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Washington's  Southern  Tour 
1791 


'[HE  LIBRARY 
OF  ME 


WASHINGTON'S 

SOUTHERN    TOUR 

1791 

By 
ARCHIBALD   HENDERSON 

WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 

HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 

1Et)t  HUbetKibe  $re«8  Cambribge 

1923 


COPYRIGHT,   1923,  BY  HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN-  COMPANY 
ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


Z\)t  Riurrsitir  J)rces 

CAM  BR  1 1  '1.1        MA- 

PRIMED  IN  THE  I 


N/VJ  CL1  \N  Hew 


TO 

JOHN  HUSTON  FINLEY 

TOURIST 

OF 

WORLD  AND  MIND 


543577 


PREFATORY  NOTE 

THROUGHOUT  the  present  volume,  references  to 
Washington's  Diary  indicate  the  following  work: 
"The  Diary  of  George  Washington,  from  1789  to  1791; 
embracing  the  Opening  of  the  First  Congress,  and  his 
Tours  through  New  England,  Long  Island,  and  the  South- 
ern States,  together  with  his  Journal  of  a  Tour  to  the 
Ohio,  in  1753.  Edited  by  Benson  J.  Lossing  (Charles  B. 
Richardson  &  Co.,  New  York,  MDCCCLX)."  Identical 
sheets,  bound  up,  with  a  similar  title,  were  issued  by  the 
Virginia  Historical  Society  (Richmond,  1861).  In  1920  a 
volume  was  published  at  Summerfield,  North  Carolina,  by 
Joseph  A.  Hoskins,  entitled:  "President  Washington's 
Diaries,  1791  to  1799."  Much  of  this  material  had  never 
thitherto  been  published.  In  Lossing's  volume,  the  last 
entry  in  the  diary  of  179 1  was  June  1st,  whereas  the  diary 
runs  continuously  to  July  4th  of  that  year. 

Throughout  the  present  volume,  any  footnotes  copied 
from  the  Lossing  volume  first  mentioned  will  be  followed 
by  the  designation:  (B.  J.  L.) 

Of  the  original  journals,  eleven  are  in  the  Government 

archives  at  Washington,  Library  of  Congress,  two  others 

are  known  to  be  extant,  and  there  is  probably  a  third. 

These  journals,  as  described  by  Theodore  F.  Dwight  ("The 

Journals  of  Washington,"  in  Magazine  of  American  History, 

vi,  2)  are  "thin,  oblong  in  form,  bound  in  half  sheep, 

measuring  seven  by  four  and  seven  eighths  inches,  and  are 

vii 


Prefatory  Note 


numbered  respectively  i  to  n.  The  entries  are  continuous 
from  January  i,  1785,  to  February  2,  1789.  Two  of  the 
series,  numbered  13  and  14,  it  is  understood,  were  presented 
to  a  friend  by  Judge  Bushrod  Washington.  .  .  .  There  are 
among  the  archives  thirteen  leaves,  evidently  of  sheets  of 
letter  paper,  folded,  cut,  and  pinned  together,  continuing 
the  account  of  his  Southern  tour  from  June  2  to  July  4, 
1791.  .  .  ."  Mr.  John  C.  Fitzpatrick,  Assistant  Chief,  Man- 
uscript Division,  Library  of  Congress,  Washington,  D.C., 
states  that,  according  to  a  memorandum,  the  Washington 
Diary  covering  the  first  five  months  of  1791  were  some 
years  ago  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Bushrod  Washington 
Adams,  of  Philadelphia. 

The  extent  of  the  investigations  made  in  preparing  this 
volume,  the  number  of  people  supplying  information,  the 
number  of  libraries,  historical  societies,  and  other  institu- 
tions which  have  been  consulted,  make  a  formidable  total. 
While  certain  scholars  have  been  particularly  helpful  and 
generous  in  supplying  special  information,  in  this  place  no 
distinction  will  be  made  in  the  acknowledgment,  which 
takes  the  form  of  a  simple  catalogue  of  names,  arranged 
alphabetically.  For  assistance  rendered  me  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  present  volume  I  am  indebted  to  the  following 
individuals  and  institutions: 

American  Antiquarian  Society;  Dr.  Joseph  S.  Ames, 
Baltimore,  Maryland;  A.  B.  Andrews,  Raleigh,  North 
Carolina;  Atlanta,  Georgia,  Carnegie  Library;  P.  H.  Bas- 
kervill,  Richmond,  Virginia;  P.  B.  Beard,  Salisbury, 
North  Carolina;  Rev.  Allen  A.  Beman,  Fairfield,  Connec- 


Vlll 


Prefatory  Note 


ticut;  Boston  Athenaeum;  John  Carter  Brown  Library, 
Providence,  Rhode  Island;  Miss  Fannie  B.  Brownfield, 
Summerville,  South  Carolina;  Dr.  Philip  Alexander 
Bruce,  University,  Virginia;  James  A.  Bryan,  New  Berne, 
North  Carolina;  Mrs.  Henry  Buist,  Charleston,  South 
Carolina;  Langdon  Cheves,  Charleston,  South  Carolina; 
D.  M.  Clark,  Greenville,  North  Carolina;  Corcoran  Art 
Gallery;  John  Crerar  Library,  Chicago,  Illinois;  Professor 
W.  F.  Dunaway,  State  College,  Pennsylvania;  Mrs. 
Emma  Henderson  Dunn,  New  Berne,  North  Carolina; 
James  Dunn,  Petersburg,  Virginia;  Herman  Le  Roy  Ed- 
gar, New  York  City;  Thomas  Fell,  formerly  President  St. 
John's  College,  Annapolis,  Maryland ;  William  H.  Fleming, 
Augusta,  Georgia;  Miss  Helen  Frick,  New  York  City; 
Miss  Adelaide  L.  Fries,  Winston-Salem,  North  Carolina; 
W.  H.  Gibbs,  Columbia,  South  Carolina;  Professor  Alex- 
ander Graham,  Charlotte,  North  Carolina;  Miss  Ida 
Hamilton,  Asheville,  North  Carolina;  William  Harden, 
Savannah,  Georgia;  Harvard  University;  Walter  Hazard 
and  Miss  Minnie  Tamplet  Hazard,  Georgetown,  South 
Carolina ;  Joseph  Jackson,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania;  H. 
K.  Jenkins,  Charleston,  South  Carolina ;  Theodore  Jervey, 
Charleston,  South  Carolina;  Charles  Edgeworth  Jones, 
Augusta,  Georgia ;  Lucien  Lamar  Knight,  Atlanta,  Geor- 
gia; Casenove  G.  Lee,  Jr.,  Washington,  D.C.;  Mrs. 
Harriet  K.  Leiding,  Charleston,  South  Carolina;  John  F. 
Lewis,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania;  Miss  Sarah  Martin, 
Winston-Salem,  North  Carolina;  David  Maydole  Matte- 
son,  Cambridge,  Massachusetts;  Albert  Matthews,  Bos- 

ix 


Prefatory  Mote 


ton,  Massachusetts ;  H.  R.  Mcllwaine,  Richmond, Virginia ; 
W.  B .  McKoy ,  Wilmington,  North  Carolina ;  Fitzhugh  Mc- 
Master,  Columbia,  South  Carolina;  Miss  Fannie  McNeely, 
Salisbury,  North  Carolina;  Mrs.  Lewis  H.  Meader,  Provi- 
dence, Rhode  Island;  John  M.  Morehead,  Charlotte, 
North  Carolina;  W.  D.  Morgan,  Georgetown,  South 
Carolina;  New  York  Public  Library;  North  Carolina  His- 
torical Commission,  Raleigh,  North  Carolina;  North  Car- 
olina University  Library,  Chapel  Hill,  North  Carolina; 
R.  A.  Nunn,  New  Berne,  North  Carolina;  Pennsylvania 
Historical  Society,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania;  Mrs.  W. 
H.  Perry,  Charleston,  South  Carolina;  Walter  G.  Peter, 
Washington,  D.C.;  Miss  C.  W.  Phifer,  Charlotte,  North 
Carolina;  Robert  P.  Phifer,  New  York  City;  Miss  Louisa 
B.  Poppenheim,  Charleston,  South  Carolina;  Miss  Lida 
T.  Rodman,  Washington,  North  Carolina;  Archibald 
Rutledge,  Mercersburg,  Pennsylvania;  A.  S.  Salley,  Jr., 
Columbia,  South  Carolina;  Miss  Ruth  Savord,  New  York 
City;  Miss  Maud  G.  Sites,  Washington,  D.C.;  D.  E.  Huger 
Smith,  Charleston,  South  Carolina;  Henry  A.  M.  Smith, 
Charleston,  South  Carolina;  Henry  Louis  Smith,  Lex- 
ington, Virginia;  Yates  Snowden,  Columbia,  South  Caro- 
lina; Dr.  F.  A.  Sondley,  Asheville,  North  Carolina; 
Miss  Florence  P.  Spofford,  Washington,  D.C. ;  Dandridge 
Spotswood,  Nashville,  Tennessee;  William  G.  Stanard, 
Richmond,  Virginia;  Paul  C.  Standley,  Washington,  D.C. ; 
Franklin  Stearns,  Alexandria,  Virginia;  G.  N.  Phelps 
Stokes,  New  York  City;  Earl  G.  Swem,  Williamsburg, 
Virginia;  Benjamin  F.  Taylor,  Savannah, Georgia;  George 


Prefatory  Note 


C.  Taylor,  Columbia,  South  Carolina;  Lyon  G.  Tyler, 
Holdcroft,  Virginia;  United  States  Navy  Department, 
Washington,  D.C.;  Edward  V.  Valentine,  Richmond, 
Virginia;  Valentine  Museum,  Richmond,  Virginia;  Vir- 
ginia State  Library,  Richmond,  Virginia;  Mrs.  Gabrielle 
de  Rosset  Waddell,  Wilmington,  North  Carolina;  Zeb- 
ulon  V.  Walzer,  Lexington,  North  Carolina;  Rev.  William 
Way,  Charleston,  South  Carolina ;  Miss  Mabel  L.  Webber, 
Charleston,  South  Carolina;  David  R.  Williams,  Camden, 
South  Carolina;  Wisconsin  Historical  Society,  Madison, 
Wisconsin;  Mrs.  Bayard  Wootten,  New  Berne,  North 
Carolina;  Miss  Eleanor  P.  Wragg,  Stony  Creek,  Con- 
necticut; Yale  University. 


CONTENTS 

Introduction:    Washington    and    the    American 
People  xxi 

I.  The  Southern  Tour:  Plans  and  Preliminaries  i 

II.  The  Start:  Philadelphia  to  Mount  Vernon  14 

III.  The  First  Stage:  Virginia:  Fredericksburg,  Rich- 
mond, Petersburg  35 

IV.  The  Second  Stage:  North  Carolina:  Halifax,  Tar- 
borough,  Greenville,  New  Berne  70 

V.  The  Third  Stage:  Wilmington,  North  Carolina, 
and  Georgetown,  South  Carolina  103 

VI.  The  Fourth  Stage:  Charleston  144 

VII.  The  Fourth  Stage:  Charleston  {continued)  179 

VIII.  The  Fifth  Stage:  Georgia:  Savannah  199 

IX.  The  Sixth  Stage:  Augusta,  Georgia,  and  Columbia, 

South  Carolina  231 

X.  The  Seventh  Stage:  Camden,  South  Carolina,  and 
Charlotte,  North  Carolina  260 

XI.  The  Eighth  Stage:  North  Carolina:  Salisbury  and 

Salem  292 

XII.  The  Ninth  Stage:  The  Return  to  Mount  Vernon    323 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

George  Washington  Photogravure  frontispiece 

From  the  portrait  by  Gilbert  Stuart  in  the  H.  C.  Frick  Collection,  New 
York.   Reproduced  by  permission. 

This  portrait,  known  as  the  Camperdown  Stuart,  is  unique  in  that  the 
Father  of  his  Country  here  wears  a  brown  coat  similar  to  the  one  known  to 
have  belonged  to  Washington  now  among  the  relics  at  Mount  Vernon.  It 
is  probably  one  of  the  two  portraits  painted  for  Mr.  J.  Vaughan,  referred 
toon  page  91  of  George  C.  Mason's  Life  and  Works  of  Gilbert  Stuart,  where 
he  says,  "The  other  portrait  of  Washington  painted  for  J.  Vaughan,  and 
taken  to  England  at  the  same  time,  remained  there,  and  there  it  probably 
may  still  be  found."  It  comes  from  the  collection  of  the  late  Earl  of 
Camperdown,  Western  House,  Shipston-on-Stour,  and  was  purchased  by 
Mr.  Frick  in  1919. 

In  the  American  Magazine  of  Art  (or  June,  1919,  Mr.  Charles  Allen  Munn 
thus  refers  to  this  portrait:  "This  portrait  must  have  been  painted  nearly 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  ago,  and  it  presumably  has  been  pass- 
ing a  long  period  of  peaceful  and  dignified  retreat  in  the  obscurity  of  some 
English  country  home.  If  the  canvas  only  could  speak  and  reveal  its  his- 
tory what  a  story  it  might  tell!  Where  has  it  been  all  these  years?  Under 
what  circumstances  was  it  sent  to  England?  Was  it  for  an  American  or  an 
Englishman?  Was  it  taken  to  its  late  home  shortly  after  it  was  painted  or 
was  it  taken  there  during  the  last  century?  Perhaps  some  day  these  ques- 
tions will  be  answered.  There  are  certain  questions  the  portrait  answers 
for  itself.  It  is  a  work  of  Stuart  of  the  first  order,  painted  in  his  best  style. 
It  is  convincing  and  satisfying.  It  represents  the  President  in  the  dignity 
of  his  great  office,  and  it  is  a  real  portrait  of  this  great  man." 

Alexander  Martin  4 

From  an  etching  by  Albert  Rosenthal,  1888,  after  a  photograph  of  the 
original  painting 

William  Blount  8 

From  a  miniature  attributed  to  James  Peale  owned  by  J.  C.  Febbes,  Esq., 
a  lineal  descendant  of  Blount 

Edward  Rutledge  8 

From  a  painting 

William  Jackson  16 

From  an  etching  by  Albert  Rosenthal,  1888,  after  the  painting  by  John 
Trumbull  in  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania 

Saint  John's  College,  Annapolis,  Maryland  24 

From  an  old  drawing 

Thomas  Johnson  28 

From  an  etching  by  Albert  Rosenthal,  1890 

XV 


Illustrations 

Daniel  Carroll  28 

From  an  etching  by  Albert  Rosenthal,  1888,  after  a  photograph  of  the 
original  painting 

"George  Town,  and  City  of  Washington  32 

From  an  engraving  by  George  Cooke  after  a  large  print.  Published  in 
London  by  Longman,  Hurst,  Rees,  Orne  &  Brown,  Paternoster  Row, 
June  1,  1812 

"Mount  Vernon,  the  Seat  of  the  late  General  Wash- 
ington" 36 

From  an  old  print  engraved  by  A.  Dick 

Two  Views  of  Mount  Vernon  as  it  is  To-Day  37 

Fielding  Lewis  40 

From  a  portrait  in  the  Virginia  State  Library,  Richmond,  Virginia 

General  Alexander  Spotswood  46 

From  a  painting 

Elizabeth   Washington,   who    became   Mrs.   Alexander 
Spotswood  46 

From  a  painting 

View  of  Richmond  50 

From  a  painting  in  the  Valentine  Museum,  Richmond 
Edward  Carrington  54 

From  an  etching  by  Max  Rosenthal 

Mrs.  David  Meade  Randolph  60 

From  a  portrait  by  St.  Memin 

David  Meade  Randolph  60 

From  a  portrait  drawn  and  engraved  by  St.  Memin,  Philadelphia 

Dry-Point  Etching  of  Washington  by  Joseph  Wright        68 
John  Baptista  Ashe  76 

From  a  heliotype  from  an  ivory  miniature  owned  by  Mrs.  Mary  Sheppard 
Crawford,  great-granddaughter,  Little  Rock,  Arkansas 

Thomas  Blount  76 

From,  a  portrait  by  St.  Memin  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Blount's  great- 
great-niece,  Miss  Lida  T.  Rodman,  Washington,  N.C. 

Richard  Dobbs  Spaight  76 

From  an  etching  by  Albert  Rosenthal,  1887,  from  a  photograph  of  a  mini- 
ature 

xvi 


Illustrations 

John  Sitgreaves  76 

From  an  etching  by  Albert  Rosenthal 

The  John  Stanly  House  in   New  Berne,  North  Caro- 
lina 88 

Washington  as  a  Mason  92 

From  an  engraving  by  A.  B.  Walter 

Tryon  Palace,  New  Berne  96 

George  Washington,  by  Savage  104 

From  an  engraving  (published  June  25,  1793)  by  Edward  Savage  after  the 
portrait  painted  by  him  for  Harvard  College 

Benjamin  Smith  120 

From  a  portrait  by  St.  Memin 

William  Henry  Hill  120 

From  a  portrait  by  St.  Memin 

Colonel  William  Alston  126 

From  a  painting 

Colonel  William  Washington  127 

From  an  engraving  by  J.  B.  Forrest  after  a  portrait  by  C.  W.  Peale  in 
Peak's  Museum,  Philadelphia 

General  William  Moultrie  127 

From  an  engraving  after  a  portrait  by  John  Trumbull 

Pyatt,  or  Allston,  House,  Georgetown,  South  Carolina  130 

Facsimile  of  Washington's  Reply  to  Address  of  George- 
town Citizens  134 

General  Thomas  Pinckney  138 

From  an  engraving  by  W.  G.  Armstrong  after  a  miniature  in  oil  by  John 
Trumbull 

"Hampton"  139 

From  Plantation  Game  Trails,  by  Archibald  Rutledge 

The  Washington  Oak,  "Hampton"  139 

"A  View  of  Charles  Town  the  Capital  of  South  Caro- 
lina in  North  America"  146 

From  an  old  print 

Mantelpiece  in  Thomas  Heyward  House,  Charleston        150 

xvii 


Illustrations 

General  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney  154 

From  a  painting 

Intendant  Vanderhorst  158 

From  a  painting 

Mordecai  Gist  158 

From  an  engraving  by  W.  A.  Wilmer  after  a  painting  formerly  in  the  pos- 
session of  Dr.  J.  Paul  Cockey,  of  Baltimore 

John  Rutledge  162 

From  an  engraving  by  G.  F.  Storm  from  a  drawing  by  James  Herring 
after  the  original  by  John  Trumbull 

Mrs.  John  Rutledge  162 

From  the  painting  by  John  Trumbull 

The  John  Rutledge  House  166 

The  Exchange,  Charleston  170 

View  of  Church  Street,  Charleston,  showing  Judge 
Heyward's  Mansion  170 

Ralph  Izard  174 

From  a  lithograph  after  a  drawing  by  C.  Deas  from  a  miniature  by  Meyer 

Thomas  Sumter  180 

From  an  engraving 

Pierce  Butler  180 

From  an  etching  by  Albert  Rosenthal,  1888,  after  a  photograph  of  a  mini- 
ature 

Charles  Pinckney  184 

From  an  etching  by  Albert  Rosenthal,  1888,  after  a  photograph  of  the 
original  painting 

Washington  on  the  Eve  of  the  Battle  of  Princeton  190 

From  the  painting  by  Trumbull  in  the  Yale  School  of  Fine  Arts 

George  Washington,  painted  by  Trumbull  for  the  City 
of  Charleston  191 

From  the  original  in  Charleston 

St.  Philip's  Church,  Charleston  196 

From  an  old  print 

Pew  occupied  by  Washington  in  St.  Michael's  Church, 
Charleston  196 

xviii 


Illustrations 


St.  Michael's  Church  197 

From  an  old  woodcut 

Thomas  Heyward,  Jr.  204 

From  a  painting  by  J.  Frazer  after  R.  Theus  in  Independence  Hall,  Phila- 
delphia 

Mrs.  Nathanael  Greene  206 

From  a  painting 

Noble  W.  Jones  210 

From  an  engraving  by  H.  Robinson  in  C.  C.  Jones's  History  of  Georgia 
Anthony  Wayne  210 

From  an  engraving  by  E.  Prudhomme  after  a  drawing  by  James  Herring 
from  a  sketch  by  Trumbull 

Joseph  Habersham  210 

From  an  engraving  by  J.  Gross  from  a  painting  by  W.  G.  Conarroe  after 
Douglass 

Lachlan  McIntosh  210 

From  an  engraving  by  Hoppner  Meyer  from  a  painting  by  J.  B.  Longacre 
after  an  original  portrait 

Washington's  Headquarters  in  Savannah  211 

From  Historic  and  Picturesque  Savannah 

The  Harbor  of  Savannah  220 

From  an  engraving  after  a  painting  by  Vernet 

General  James  Jackson  228 

From  an  engraving  from  a  drawing  by  J.  B.  Longacre  after  St.  Memin 

General  Nathanael  Greene  232 

From  a  portrait  by  Charles  W.  Peale  owned  by  his  great-granddaughter 
Mrs.  William  B.  Greene,  Jr. 

George  Walton  236 

From  an  etching  by  Albert  Rosenthal,  1888,  from  the  painting  in  Inde- 
pendence Hall 

House  of  Dr.  E.  E.  Murphy,  Augusta,  Georgia  240 

General  Wade  Hampton  250 

From  a  lithograph  by  Max  Rosenthal 

The  State  House  at  Columbia,  May,  1794  254 

From  an  engraving  by  James  Akin,  Philadelphia 

Commodore  Alexander  Gillon  258 

From  a  painting 

xix 


Illustrations 


Robert  Field's  Engraving  of  Washington  after  a  Paint- 
ing by  Walter  Robertson  266 

Published  by  Walter  Robertson,  August  I,  1795 

The  Richard  Champion  Plaque  of  Washington,  presented 
to  Washington  in  1791  272 

Now  owned  by  Mr.  W.  G.  Peter,  of  Washington,  and  on  exhibition  in  the 
National  Museum 

Engraving  of  Washington  by  Barthelemy  Joseph  Fule- 
van  Roger  after  the  Medallion  painted  by  the  Mar- 
quise de  Brehan  in  New  York,  1789  284 

Montfort  Stokes  296 

From  a  painting 
General  John  Steele  300 

From  the  miniature  by  James  Peale 

Judge  Spruce  Macay  300 

From  a  drawing 

Old  Pictures  of  King  George  and  Queen  Charlotte 

WHICH  HUNG  ON  THE  WALLS  OF  Steel's  TAVERN  IN  SALIS- 
BURY, North  Carolina  304 

Inscription  written  by  Nathanael  Greene  on  Back  of 
Picture  of  King  George  305 

Facsimile  of  Washington's  Reply  to  Citizens  of  Salis- 
bury 308 

Salem  Tavern,  Salem,  North  Carolina  312 

Salem  Tavern  Tablet  312 

Salem  Gemeinhaus  316 

From  a  drawing 

Frederick  William  Marshall  317 

Salem  Brothers'  House  320 

Salem  Sisters'  House  320 

Stuart  Portrait  of  Washington  at  Washington  and  Lee 
University,  Lexington,  Virginia  330 

From  the  original  by  Gilbert  Stuart,  discovered  by  accident  in  1922  in  an 
unnoticed  corner  of  the  Lee  Memorial  Chapel  at  Washington  and  Lee 
University  by  Mr.  Arthur  Dawson,  official  portrait-painter  of  the  United 
States  Military  Academy 

XX 


INTRODUCTION 

Washington  and  the  American  People 

IN  Washington's  tours  of  Northern,  Eastern,  and 
Southern  States  in  1789,  1790,  and  1791,  "swinging 
around  the  circle"  for  the  first  time  entered  American 
history.  It  is  singular,  indeed  almost  inexplicable,  that  the 
biographers  of  Washington  have  passed  over,  with  but 
casual  observation,  these  tours  of  the  country  by  the  first 
President.1  For  the  story  of  these  tours,  as  preserved  in 
the  literature,  press,  and  correspondence  of  the  time,  is  a 
fruitful  instrumentality  for  discovering  and  disclosing  to 
us  the  character  of  Washington  —  his  attitude  toward  the 
people,  his  modes  of  thinking,  his  "reactions"  to  exter- 
nals, his  principles  and  theories,  and  even  his  vanities  and 
prejudices.  The  picture  which  unrolls  before  us  in  bright 
pageantry  is  —  if  you  please  —  American  Democracy  on 
the  Grand  Tour. 

The  central  figure  in  this  unfolding  panorama  is  Wash- 
ington. The  background,  scarcely  secondary  to  him  in  in- 
terest, is  the  American  People.  The  Southern  tour,  with 
which  we  are  here  concerned,  gave  Washington  —  and 
gives  us  —  a  clear  view  of  the  South  of  that  day,  its  agri- 
cultural, political,  social,  and  cultural  condition.  An  ex- 
traordinarily keen  observer,  trained  as  surveyor,  farmer, 
and  soldier,  Washington  noted  in  his  deliberately  imper- 

1  Neither  Woodrow  Wilson  nor  Henry  Cabot  Lodge  even  so  much  as 
makes  mention  of  the  Southern  tour. 

xxi 


Introduction 

sonal  diaries  the  features  of  the  country  which  came  under 
his  immediate  observation,  and  interpreted  them  with 
skill  and  sagacity.  Through  his  eyes  we  see  the  South  of 
1791  —  its  fields  and  streams,  mountains  and  plains  —  not 
as  mere  beauties  of  nature,  but  as  the  instruments  of 
farmer  and  planter,  of  manufacturer  and  trader.  As  in  an 
open  book  he  read  the  story  of  the  Republic  —  the  place 
and  the  people. 

Fortunate,  indeed,  was  Washington  in  enjoying  his 
legend  in  his  own  lifetime.  Few  are  they  who  are  witnesses 
of  their  own  immortality.  The  decision  to  tour  the  coun- 
try was  a  mark  of  true  wisdom.  Intoxicated  with  the 
heady  draught  of  the  Revolution,  the  American  people 
proudly  rejoiced  in  the  conscious  belief  that  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  as  a  dramatic  and  conspicuous 
figure,  was  unrivalled  by  any  sovereign  of  Europe.  With 
almost  naive  pride  and  authentic  hero  worship,  the  people 
adored  the  very  name  of  Washington,  and  revelled  in  every 
opportunity  afforded  them  to  pay  him  the  sincere  and 
lavish  tributes  of  affection  and  gratitude.  "There  was 
everywhere"  —  on  this  Southern  tour  as  on  Washing- 
ton's journey  to  his  first  inauguration  —  "a  running  to- 
gether from  all  the  country  roundabout  of  people  who 
bore  themselves  not  as  mere  sight-seers,  but  as  if  they  had 
come  out  of  love  for  the  man  they  were  to  see  pass  by.  It 
was  not  their  numbers  but  their  manner  that  struck  their 
hero  with  a  new  sense  of  responsibility.  ...  He  was  .  .  . 
their  guarantee  of  the  new  government's  good  faith,  of  its 

respect  for  law  and  its  devotion  to  liberty;  and  they  made 

xxii 


Introduction 

him  know .  .  .  their  confidence  in  the  very  tone  of  their 
greeting.  There  was  the  manifest  touch  of  love  in  the  re- 
ception everywhere  prepared  for  him."  1 

There  need  be  no  cause  for  wonder  that  the  people 
looked  up  to  Washington  as  a  hero.  For  he  was  indeed  a 
knightly  figure.  Washington  was  the  very  embodiment  of 
the  popular  idea  of  a  hero.  Six  feet  four  inches  tall,  bal- 
ancing the  scales  at  two  hundred,  he  was  distinguished  in 
figure,  majestic  in  mien,  benignant  in  expression.  As  sur- 
veyor, fox-hunter,  continental  courier,  wilderness  ambas- 
sador, soldier  and  military  commander,  he  had  lived  a 
strenuous  life  in  the  great  open  spaces;  and  was  known  as 
the  most  graceful  horseman  of  his  age.  A  man  of  intense 
passions  held  under  rigorous  control,  he  had  mild  gray 
eyes  which  on  occasion  could  flash  lightning  and  pale 
cheeks  which  could  mantle  with  the  flush  of  anger.  Diffi- 
dent in  manner,  aloof  in  spirit,  he  knew  how  to  unbend,  to 
charm  with  the  graciousness  of  his  smile,  the  friendliness  of 
his  disposition.  The  firm  forehead,  Roman  nose,  deep-set 
eyes,  and  powerful  lower  jaw  united  to  form  the  very 
facial  image  of  a  man  born  to  command.  The  gravity  of 
his  mien  was  accentuated  by  the  conviction  that  in  this 
way  he  could  impress  the  people  with  the  dignity  of  the 
office  of  President  of  the  United  States. 

The  clever,  vitriolic  Bache  held  up  to  scorn  Washing- 
ton's "stately  journeyings  through  the  American  conti- 
nent in  search  of  personal  incense."  And  the  unspeakable 
Callender  ranted  of  "the  vileness  of  the  adulation"  paid 

1  Woodrow  Wilson:  George  Washington. 

xxiii 


Introduction 

to  Washington,  in  atrabiliar  mood  asserting  that  "the  ex- 
travagant popularity  possessed  by  this  citizen  reflects  the 
utmost  ridicule  on  the  discernment  of  America."  And 
even  Jefferson,  in  none  too  gracious  a  mood,  frankly  ad- 
mits that  "such  is  the  popularity  of  the  President  that  the 
people  will  support  him  in  whatever  he  will  do  or  will  not 
do,  without  appealing  to  their  own  reason  or  to  anything 
but  their  feelings  toward  him."  Far  from  going  on  tour 
"in  search  of  personal  incense,"  Washington  was  actuated 
by  the  desire  to  win  the  good-will,  the  support,  of  the 
people  for  the  General  Government.  This  he  hoped  best 
to  accomplish  through  his  own  presence;  and  through  his 
addresses  in  which  he  made  constant  appeal  for  the  support 
of  the  Federal  Government.  "Its  policy,"  as  embodied  in 
himself,  "must  make  the  States  a  nation,  must  stir  the 
people  out  of  their  pettiness  as  colonists  and  provincials, 
and  give  them  a  national  character  and  spirit."  The  follow- 
ing words  from  his  first  inaugural  address  might  almost 
serve  as  the  epitome  of  his  policy  as  President,  of  which 
his  tours  of  the  country  were  but  a  single  expression:  "The 
propitious  smiles  of  Heaven  can  never  be  expected  on  a  na- 
tion that  disregards  the  eternal  laws  of  order  and  right, 
which  Heaven  itself  has  ordained;  and  the  preservation  of 
the  sacred  fire  of  liberty,  and  the  destiny  of  the  republican 
model  of  government,  are  justly  considered  as  deeply ■,  per- 
haps as  finally  staked,  on  the  experiment  intrusted  to  the 
hands  of  the  American  people."  This  ideal  he  could  for- 
ward by  touring  the  country.   For  he  was  past-master  in 

the  art  of  social  correctness  —  to  which  John  Adams  at- 

xxiv 


Introduction 

tributed  much  of  his  celebrity.  And,  as  we  have  seen,  his 
head  was  aureoled  with  the  halo  of  heroism.  "The  per- 
sonal appearance  of  the  President,  representing  the  whole 
people,  would  serve  to  bring  home  to  the  public  mind  the 
existence  and  reality  of  a  central  government,  which  to 
many  if  not  to  most  persons  in  the  outlying  States  seemed 
shadowy  and  distant.  But  General  Washington  was 
neither  shadowy  nor  distant  to  any  one.  Every  man, 
woman,  and  child  had  heard  of  and  loved  the  leader  of  the 
Revolution.  To  his  countrymen  everywhere,  his  name 
meant  political  freedom  and  victory  in  battle;  and  when  he 
came  among  them  as  the  head  of  a  new  government,  the 
government  took  on  in  some  measure  the  character  of  its 
chief.  His  journey  was  a  well-calculated  appeal  for  his 
cause,  to  the  warm  human  interest  which  a  man  readily  ex- 
cites, but  which  only  gathers  slowly  around  constitutions 
and  forms  of  government."1 

The  story  of  Washington's  journey  through  the  South- 
ern States  is  fully  worthy  of  narration  —  if  for  one 
reason  only.  On  this  tour,  we  see  Washington  the  man 
rather  than  Washington  the  statesman.  Once  again  he 
lives  the  life  he  loved  best  —  the  life  of  the  free  air  and  the 
open  road.  The  cultured  and  discerning  gentleman  who 
was  his  constant  companion  and  aide  upon  the  tour  gives 
us  this  arresting  picture  of  Washington:  "Enriched  by 
Nature  with  her  choicest  gifts  —  she  had  with  equal  liber- 
ality, bestowed  upon  him  the  greatest  advantages  of  ex- 
ternal form,  and  the  highest  degree  of  intellectual  endow- 

1  H.  C.  Lodge :  George  Washington. 
XXV 


Introduction 

ment.  To  the  noble  port  of  a  lofty  stature,  were  united 
uncommon  grace,  strength,  and  symmetry  of  person.  And, 
to  the  commanding  aspect  of  manly  beauty,  was  given 
the  benignant  smile,  which,  inspiring  confidence,  created 
affection."  Upon  this  tour  the  whole  armory  of  Wash- 
ington's qualities  and  gifts  —  personal,  political,  social  — 
were  tested  to  the  full.  Even  affairs  of  state  could  not  be 
wholly  set  aside  —  for  documents  and  letters  continued  to 
pursue  him,  if  with  somewhat  laggard  pace.  For  the  most 
part,  however,  Washington's  business  was  pleasure  —  in  a 
word  to  prove  himself  a  "good  mixer,"  to  justify  the  ven- 
eration amounting  to  adoration  entertained  for  him  by  the 
people,  irrespective  of  rank,  class,  age,  or  sex.  Many  inci- 
dents of  this  tour  give  color,  life,  and  animation  to  a  fig- 
ure commonly  regarded  as  frigid  and  remote.  The  stilted 
chromo  which  was  the  eidolon  bequeathed  to  posterity  by 
the  earlier  biographers  of  Washington  is  giving  place  to  a 
lovable  figure  of  genuine  human  interest. 

Although  it  be  the  fashion  of  British  historians  to  speak 
of  Washington  as  an  English  country  gentleman,  certain 
it  is  that  he  was  a  native  of  Virginia.  By  the  American 
people  of  his  day,  Washington  was  regarded  as  the  su- 
preme embodiment  of  the  genius,  wisdom,  and  leadership 
of  the  South.  It  is  true  that  Washington  was  a  citizen 
of  the  world,  as  well  as  head  of  the  whole  country — a 
country  which,  in  the  course  of  his  military  campaigns  in 
the  French  and  Indian  War  and  the  Revolution,  he  had 
come  to  know  intimately  and  deeply  to  love.    Yet  we 

should  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  Washington  was  a 

xxvi 


Introduction 

typical  Virginian  of  his  day.  When  Washington  visited 
New  York,  New  England,  or  Pennsylvania,  he  was  travel- 
ling off  his  native  heath.  When  he  journeyed  through 
Virginia,  the  Carolinas,  and  Georgia,  he  was  travelling 
around  at  home.  . . . 

In  supreme  degree,  Washington  exhibited  the  distinc- 
tive attributes  of  Virginia  and  the  South.  "Something  in 
her  air  or  her  life,"  says  Woodrow  Wilson  in  speaking  of 
the  Virginia  of  that  period,  "had  given  her  in  these  latter 
years  an  extraordinary  breed  of  public  men  —  men  liber- 
ated from  local  prejudice,  possessed  of  a  vision  and  an 
efficacy  in  affairs  worthy  of  the  best  traditions  of  states- 
manship among  the  English  race  from  which  they  were 
sprung,  capable  of  taking  the  long  view,  of  seeing  the  per- 
manent lines  of  leadership  upon  great  questions,  and  shap- 
ing ordinary  views  to  meet  extraordinary  ends."  l  The 
great  Virginians,  as  Garrott  Brown  has  pointed  out  — 
Washington  and  Henry  and  Jefferson,  Mason  and  Mar- 
shall and  Madison,  the  Lees  and  the  Randolphs  —  "were 
anything  but  gay  cavaliers":  they  were  "deliberate  and 
stately,  slow  of  thought  and  full  resolved  in  action."  2  De- 
ficient in  the  debonair  light-heartedness  all  too  glibly  at- 
tributed to  the  Southern  cavalier,  Washington  was  en- 
dowed with  all  the  social  graces  of  the  old  Virginia  aristoc- 
racy. About  him  was  an  air  of  benignant  gravity,  of  high 
seriousness,  which  comported  well  with  the  temper  of  the 
age.   "In  battle,  calm  and  collected;  in  council,  dignified 

1  George  Washington  (1897). 

'  "  George  Washington,  Southerner,"  The  Independent,  vol.  56. 

xxvii 


Introduction 

and  serene;  in  society,  gracious  and  condescending."  By 
no  means  deficient  in  the  sense  of  humor,  he  held  as  firm 
a  rein  over  his  risibility  as  over  his  temper.  His  personal 
relationships  and  friendships  were  numerous  and  cordial. 
His  was  that  rare  quality  —  the  gift  of  at  once  winning 
friendship  and  inspiring  reverence.  Toward  men  he  was 
friendly  without  intimacy,  cordial  without  familiarity; 
toward  women  he  was  genial  and  winning,  his  manner 
touched  with  something  of  ardency  and  sentiment. 

In  the  eyes  of  the  people,  Washington  was  the  ideal 
leader — confident,  self-contained,  imperturbable.  The 
unbreakable  tenacity  of  his  purpose,  the  wisdom  of  his  de- 
cisions, the  unselfishness  of  his  nature,  the  purity  of  his 
character  —  these  qualities  blended  in  a  well-nigh  perfect 
whole.  "The  acknowledgement  of  his  transcendent  mer- 
its," says  his  inseparable  companion  upon  the  Southern 
tour,  "was  the  delightful  theme  of  every  class  and  condi- 
tion. Infancy  was  taught  to  lisp  his  praise  —  youth  and 
manhood  poured  forth  the  effusions  of  their  gratitude  — 
and  the  blessings  of  age  were  expressed  with  the  fervor  of 
feeling  and  the  solemnity  of  religion." 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 
1791 


A 


WASHINGTON'S 
SOUTHERN  TOUR 

• 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  SOUTHERN  TOUR 

Plans  and  Preliminaries 
MONG  the  important  decisions  concerning  the  du- 


ties of  his  high  office  which  Washington  gravely 
reached  shortly  after  becoming  first  President  of  the 
American  Confederation  was  to  visit  every  part  of  the 
United  States  during  the  course  of  his  administration  of 
the  government.  As  early  as  May,  1789,  he  had  given 
definite  expression  to  the  idea  of  making  a  tour  of  all  the 
States  "in  order  to  become  better  acquainted  with  their 
principal  characters  and  internal  circumstances,  as  well  as 
to  be  more  accessible  to  numbers  of  well-informed  persons, 
who  might  give  him  useful  information  and  advice  on 
political  subjects."  During  the  recess  of  Congress,  in 
anticipation  of  making  a  tour  of  the  Eastern  States,  he  dis- 
cussed the  matter  with  Alexander  Hamilton  (October  5, 
1789),  who  thought  it  a  very  desirable  plan  and  advised 
him  to  carry  it  out.  The  purpose  of  the  trip,  as  Washing- 
ton explained,  was  "to  acquire  knowledge  of  the  face  of  the 
country,  the  growth  and  agriculture  thereof —  and  the 


TVashiyigton's  Southern  Tour 

temper  and  disposition  of  the  inhabitants  towards  the  new 
government."  Being  eventually  convinced  of  the  pro- 
priety of  making  such  a  tour,  Washington  visited  the  East- 
ern States,  being  away  from  New  York  for  the  interval 
October  15  to  November  13,  1789.  During  nearly  the 
whole  distance  he  was  attended  "by  military  escorts,  which 
were  prepared  to  receive  him  at  different  points  on  the 
route.  In  all  the  principal  towns,  also,  he  was  greeted  with 
public  addresses,  the  ringing  of  bells,  entertainments,  and 
every  demonstration  of  joy  from  the  whole  body  of  the 
people."  * 

At  the  time  of  making  this  tour  Rhode  Island  had  not 
yet  become  a  part  of  the  Union.  In  consequence,  Wash- 
ington did  not  pass  through  that  State  on  his  tour  of  the 
Eastern  States.  Following  the  ratification  of  the  Consti- 
tution by  Rhode  Island  on  May  29th,  Washington  visited 
that  State  in  August,  1790,  being  absent  from  the  14th 
until  the  24th.  A  secondary  reason  for  both  these  trips 
was  to  escape  for  a  time  from  the  cares  of  office,  the  con- 
fining duties  of  the  Presidency,  and  to  secure  the  benefi- 
cial effects  of  exercise  in  the  open  air.  This  was  espe- 
cially true  in  the  case  of  the  Rhode  Island  visit,  which 
followed  a  serious  illness  in  the  May  preceding.  He  re- 
turned from  this  trip,  on  which  he  was  "everywhere  cor- 
dially welcomed  by  the  inhabitants,"  much  improved  in 
health  —  the  sea  air,  as  well  as  the  exercise  and  change 
of  scene  having  proved  beneficial. 

As  early  as  October  7,  1789,  the  question  of  a  tour  of  the 

1  Sparks:  Writings  of  Washington,  vol.  x,  footnote  pp.  46-47. 


Plans  and  Preliminaries 

Southern  States  was  broached.  When  Washington  on  this 
day  consulted  John  Jay  as  to  the  propriety  of  his  "  intended 
tour  into  the  Eastern  States,  he  (Jay)  highly  approved  it," 
says  Washington  in  his  diary,  "but  observed,  a  similar 
visit  will  be  expected  by  those  of  the  Southern."  There 
was  little  choice  between  East  and  South  —  for  each  sec- 
tion exhibited  the  spectacle  of  a  single  State  still  holding 
out  against  the  Constitution;  the  East  with  Rhode  Island 
and  the  South  with  North  Carolina.  With  characteristic 
courtesy,  Washington  made  his  first  visit  to  the  East  — 
for  the  South  was  his  own  place.  But  after  North  Car- 
olina ratified  the  Constitution  on  November  13,  1790, 
there  was  no  longer  any  reason  why  he  should  not  go  on  a 
tour  of  the  Southern  States  —  and  "make  it  unanimous." 
This  he  was  doubtless  eager  to  do  —  because  already  a 
"spirit  of  jealousy"  toward  the  Eastern  States  was  fast 
growing  in  the  South,  especially  in  Virginia.1 

To  let  the  people  see  him  and  come  in  contact  with  him 
in  a  democratic  way,  to  ingratiate  himself  in  the  favor  of 
the  masses,  to  awake  their  sympathies  and  evoke  their 
support  for  the  general  government  through  attachment 
to  his  own  person  —  surely  these  were  guiding  motives 
in  making  this  tour,  no  less  than  those  already  cited  which 
Washington  gave  out  to  the  public.  If  at  times,  as  Chaun- 
cey  Ford  somewhat  hypercritically  suggests,  Washington 
appeared  "to  have  been  too  anxious  to  test  the  popular 
feeling,  and  to  place  too  high  a  value  upon  opinion  as 

1  Consult  letter  to  Washington  from  Dr.  David  Stuart  (Abingdon, 
Virginia,  March  15,  1790). 

3 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

expressed  to  him  by  those  who  stood  well  with  the  people," 
surely  his  tour  of  the  Southern  States  exhibits  a  thoroughly 
laudable  human  trait  —  the  desire  to  discern  the  true 
trend  of  public  opinion,  the  true  complexion  of  the  pop- 
ular mind,  for  his  guidance  in  the  proper  conduct  of  the 
affairs  of  government.  It  is  not  to  be  a  demagogue  to 
inform  one's  self  regarding  the  consensus  of  opinion  in  a 
democracy. 

In  a  letter  written  to  Washington  at  New  York  from 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  December  14, 1789,  Governor 
Charles  Pinckney  said :  "  From  your  late  tour  we  are  flat- 
tered with  the  hope  of  your  one  day  visiting  this  country 
—  whenever  you  so  far  honour  us  I  am  sure  that  every 
thing  in  our  power  will  be  done  to  render  your  Visit  pleas- 
ing and  agreeable  to  you."  To  this  letter,  Washington 
made  the  following  reply  (New  York,  January  11,  1790): 

My  late  tour  through  the  eastern  States  has  been  of 
salutary  consequence  in  confirming  my  health.  I  have  like- 
wise had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  how  far  the  country  is 
recovered  from  the  ravages  of  war,  and  how  well  the  inhabit- 
ants are  disposed  to  support  the  general  government. 

Not  being  master  of  my  own  time,  nor  accustomed  to  make 
personal  engagements,  which  from  contingency  might  be- 
come impracticable,  I  can  only  say  in  regard  to  the  last  para- 
graph of  your  letter,  that  nothing  would  give  me  more  pleas- 
ure than  to  visit  all  the  Southern  States. 

The  news  that  Washington  contemplated  making  this 
tour  gradually  spread  through  the  Southern  States.  It 
eventually  reached  Governor  Alexander  Martin,  of  North 
Carolina,  a  great  admirer  of  Washington,  with  whom  he 
had  been  thrown  in  close  relations  during  the  Revolution. 

4 


ALEXANDER  MARTIN 


THE  IIBRARY 

OF  THE 

liSKVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


Plans  and  Preliminaries 

On  August  7, 1 790,  Washington  appointed  William  Blount,1 
of  North  Carolina,  Governor  of  the  "Territory  South  of 
the  Ohio  River."  2  Blount  had  commended  himself  to 
Washington  by  his  active  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Constitution  by  North  Carolina  at  the  conven- 
tion in  Fayetteville,  in  November,  1789.  Of  titled  ances- 
try, courtly  in  manner,  of  commanding  presence,  a  man  of 
the  world,  Blount  was  certainly  the  choice  of  the  western 
inhabitants  as  well  as  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina.  Upon 
receiving  notice  of  his  appointment,  Blount  set  out  for 
Mount  Vernon  to  consult  the  President  upon  his  new  ap- 
pointment. The  letter  which  follows,  hitherto  unpublished, 
is  here  printed  in  full,  because  of  the  intimate  picture  it 

1  William  Blount,  son  of  Jacob  Blount  and  Barbara  Gray,  his  first  wife, 
was  born  in  Bertie  County,  North  Carolina,  March  26,  1749.  Pursued  pre- 
paratory studies  in  New  Berne,  North  Carolina.  Paymaster  of  Continen- 
tal troops,  North  Carolina  line,  1778;  member  North  Carolina  House  of 
Commons,  1780-84;  sat  in  the  Continental  Congress  in  1782,  1783,  1786, 
and  1787.  He  was  delegate  to  the  convention  that  framed  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution in  1787;  and  it  was  here  at  Philadelphia  that  Washington  made 
his  acquaintance.  He  was  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  State  Senate, 
1788-90;  and  represented  Pitt  County  in  the  State  Convention  of  1789 
which  adopted  the  Federal  Constitution.  After  serving  as  Governor  of  the 
"Territory  South  of  the  Ohio  River"  and  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs, 
1790-96,  he  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate.  He  held  office  from 
August  2,  1796,  until  he  was  found  guilty  "of  a  high  misdemeanor,  entirely 
inconsistent  with  his  public  trust  and  duty  as  a  Senator,"  and  was  expelled 
July  8,  1797.  It  was  charged  that  he  was  active  in  a  plan  to  incite  the 
Creeks  and  Cherokees  to  aid  the  British  in  conquering  the  Spanish  territory 
of  West  Florida.  During  the  trial  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate  of 
Tennessee  and  chosen  its  president  at  the  opening  of  the  session,  December 
3,  1797.   He  died  in  Knoxville,  Tennessee,  March  21,  1800. 

2  After  the  efforts  of  the  pioneers  of  what  is  now  Tennessee  to  establish 
the  independent  State  of  Frankland  had  proved  abortive,  North  Carolina 
ceded  these  lands  to  the  United  States,  which  were  accepted  by  Congress, 
April  21,  1790.  The  ceded  area  was  erected  into  "The  Territory  South  of 
the  Ohio  River."  Consult  Archibald  Henderson:  Pioneers  of  the  Old  South- 
west.   (Century  Co.,  New  York,  1920.) 

5 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

presents  of  the  life  of  the  Washington  family  at  Mount 
Vernon,  as  well  as  for  its  reference  at  this  early  date  to 
Washington's  plans,  already  well  matured,  for  visiting  the 
Southern  States  following  the  conclusion  of  the  approach- 
ing session  of  Congress : 

John  Gray  Blount  Esquire, 

Washington,  North  Carolina. 

I  arrived  here  on  Friday;  visited  the  President  at  Mount 
Vernon  on  Saturday,  stayed  all  night  and  returned  yesterday. 
He  has  referred  me  to  the  Attorney  General  Mr.  Randolph, 
at  Philadelphia.  And  I  shall  proceed  to  him  to-morrow 
morning  at  3  o'clock  in  the  Stage  and  if  I  do  not  lose  a  Stage 
I  shall  be  here  again  on  this  day  week  at  12  o'clock.  From 
this  I  shall  proceed  to  the  ceded  Territory  without  delay. 

I  have  been  much  pleased  with  my  visit  to  Mount  Vernon, 
the  President  appears  great  and  amiable,  indeed  admirable. 
Mrs.  Washington  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  agreeable  ladies 
of  the  whole  world.  Major  Washington,  his  nephew,  is  a 
handsome,  genteel,  attentive  man,  his  lady,  Mrs.  Washing- 
ton's niece,  is  handsome  and  elegant,  and  the  little  grand- 
children of  Mrs.  Washington,  the  children  of  Mr.  Custis  are 
very  promising.  Except  that  the  President  is  too  awful,  I 
verily  believe  he  is  as  awful  (awe  inspiring)  as  a  God,  Mount 
Vernon  is  the  most  agreeable  place  I  ever  saw.  The  house  is 
not  elegant  having  originally  been  begun  on  too  small  a  scale, 
but  it  is  now  very  roomy  and  commodious  and  the  dining 
room  is  very  large  and  elegant.  It  stands  about  200  paces 
from  the  brink  of  the  hill  which  overlooks  the  Potomac,  the 
height  of  the  bank  is  from  80  to  100  feet  above  the  bed  of  the 
River.  Mount  Vernon  is  highly  improved  with  a  number  of 
necessary  buildings,  good  gardens,  and  if  I  am  a  judge  fine 
and  elegant  ones.  Delightful  walks,  straight,  circular  and 
serpentine  handsomely  and  tastily  shaded  with  the  best 
chosen  trees.  Among  them  the  Lombardy  poplar,  or  the  pop- 
lar of  the  Po  of  which  Ovid  sang  many  hundred  years  ago  is 
found  and  much  admired. 

6 


Plans  and  Preliminaries 

The  style  and  manner  of  his  living  surpasses  what  I  have 
before  seen  particularly  in  dignity;  and  I  suppose  I  saw  him 
living  on  his  own  funds,  not  those  of  the  United  States  in 
fact  Major  Jackson  so  informed  me. 

At  the  request  of  Governor  Martin,  I  asked  him  if  it  was 
true  as  we  had  heard  to  the  Southward  that  he  intended  this 
autumn  to  visit  the  Southern  States,  he  answered  that  he 
wished  to  do  so  but  had  not  time  as  his  presence  at  Phila- 
delphia would  be  necessary  some  days  previous  to  the  meet- 
ing of  Congress.  Then  the  subject  was  dropped  and  after- 
wards he  renewed  it  by  saying  that  he  supposed  the  approach- 
ing session  of  Congress  would  not  be  a  long  one  and  that  the 
new  Congress  would  not  hold  a  Spring  Session  and  in  that 
case  he  should  make  a  Tour  to  the  South  as  far  as  Savannah 
and  Augusta  in  the  months  of  March,  April  and  May.  That 
he  should  proceed  by  the  lower  road  and  return  by  the  upper, 
or  the  reverse,  and  from  what  fell  in  the  course  of  conver- 
sation on  the  subject  I  think  he  will  proceed  via  Norfolk, 
Edenton,  Washington,  New  Bern,  Wilmington,  Charleston, 
Savannah  then  up  to  Augusta  and  return  by  way  of  Colum- 
bia, Campden,  Charlotte,  Salisbury  thence  the  most  direct 
Road  to  Richmond  leaving  Petersburg  to  the  right. 

I  have  given  this  information  to  Gov.  Martin  so  that  you 
may  shortly  expect  to  hear  of  pompous  orders  for  equiping 
and  training  the  Cavalry.  And  perhaps  it  may  induce  the 
Overseers  of  Roads  and  Ferry-Keepers  to  mend  their  ways 
and  repair,  or  rebuild  new  boats.  If  the  very  greatest  atten- 
tion and  respect  is  not  paid  to  him,  he  will  be  greatly  disap- 
pointed and  mortified  for  to  the  North  the  contention  has 
been  who  should  pay  him  the  most. 

Major  Jackson  says  from  Boston  to  the  line  of  New  Hamp- 
shire he  was  attended  by  400  Cavalry  and  was  there  met  by 
Governor  Sullavan  [?]  at  the  head  of  700.  Give  Sam  Simpson 
notice  that  he  may  have  his  company  in  complete  order. 

I  want  Mollie  and  my  children  to  see  him  for  certainly 
such  another  Man  will  not  appear  again  in  these  days.  I 
would  not  like  the  contents  of  this  letter  to  get  into  the  press 
yet  I  would  wish  it  generally  known  to  such  as  would  be  in- 


Washington^ 's  Southern  Tour 

duced  to  prepare  for  his  Reception  in  any  way  whatever.  His 
object  in  coming  I  suppose  is  more  to  be  seen  and  to  gratify 
the  Southern  people  in  seeing  him  than  to  see  himself,  tho' 
his  ostensible  object  is  to  see  the  Southern  States. 

Yours  —  &c 

Wm.  Blount.1 

In  the  midst  of  the  trying  duties  of  the  Presidency, 
Washington  looked  forward  with  eagerness  to  the  thought 
of  the  Southern  tour.  As  the  spirit  of  the  dust-begrimed 
traveller  eagerly  looks  to  the  green  and  cool  oasis,  so  the 
heart  of  Washington  turned  toward  the  South.  Reminders 
of  his  project  reached  him  from  time  to  time,  in  the  shape 
of  letters  of  invitation,  notably  one  from  his  kinsman, 
Colonel  William  Washington,  who  lived  in  Charleston, 
with  a  country  place,  "Sandy  Hill,"  some  fifteen  miles  dis- 
tant. In  his  reply,  written  from  Philadelphia  (January  8, 
1 791),  Washington  gave  voice  to  that  cautious  and  tact- 
ful purpose  which,  characteristically  enough,  he  had  thus 
early  formulated  concerning  the  question  of  entertainment 
on  the  contemplated  tour. 

It  is  my  intention  to  visit  the  Southern  States  next  spring, 
provided  the  Congress  should  not  meet  immediately  on  the 
rising  of  the  present,  which  will  be  on  the  3d  of  March.  If  it 
should  not  be  in  my  power  to  leave  this  place  by  the  middle 
of  next  month  I  must  give  up  my  tour  for  this  reason,  as  set- 

1  This  letter  was  courteously  supplied  me  by  Miss  Lida  T.  Rodman,  of 
Washington,  North  Carolina,  a  descendant  of  the  Blount  family.  She  is 
the  author  of  a  biography  of  William  Blount  soon  to  appear.  John  Gray 
Blount,  brother  to  William,  was  a  pioneer  as  a  youth  with  Daniel  Boone 
in  Kentucky;  and  became  a  man  of  great  prominence,  wealth,  and  influence 
in  Beaufort  County,  North  Carolina.  The  "Mollie"  of  the  letter  refers  to 
William  Blount's  wife,  Mary,  daughter  of  Colonel  Caleb  Grainger,  prom- 
inent in  the  Revolution.  Cf.  Life  and  Services  of  William  Blount,  by  M.  J. 
Wright.    (Washington,  1884.) 


THE  LIBRARY 
OF  THE 

U8IVERS1TY  OF  II IIHQIS 


Plans  and  Preliminaries 

ting  out  at  a  later  period  would  bring  me  into  the  Southern 
States  in  the  warm  and  sickly  months,  a  circumstance  which 
I  would  wish  by  all  means  to  avoid.  But,  Sir,  you  will  permit 
me  to  decline  the  acceptance  of  your  polite  invitation;  for  I 
cannot  comply  with  it  without  involving  myself  in  an  incon- 
sistency; as  I  have  determined  to  pursue  the  same  plan  in  my 
southern  as  I  did  in  my  eastern  visit,  which  was,  not  to  in- 
commode any  private  families  by  taking  up  my  quarters  with 
them  during  my  journey.  I  am  persuaded  you  will  readily  see 
the  necessity  of  the  resolution,  both  as  it  respects  myself  and 
others.  It  leaves  me  unembarrased  by  engagements,  and  by  a 
uniform  adherence  to  it  I  shall  avoid  giving  umbrage  to  any, 
by  declining  all  such  invitations. 

In  this  same  letter  Washington  states  that  the  trip — full 
of  hardships  of  a  sort,  over  many  a  bad  road,  and  requir- 
ing the  not  infrequent  interruption  of  the  habitual  routine 
of  sleep  and  rest — would  prove  too  severe  a  tax  upon  Mrs. 
Washington,  who  would,  therefore,  not  accompany  him. 

Another  letter  of  invitation,  from  a  very  warm  friend, 
Edward  Rutledge,1  of  South  Carolina  —  the  third  friend 

1  Edward  Rutledge,  born  in  Charleston,  1 749 ;  died  there,  1 800.  Student  of 
law  at  the  Temple,  London.  Attended  courts  of  law  and  Houses  of  Parlia- 
ment for  four  years.  Married  Harriet,  daughter  of  Henry  Middleton,  soon 
after  his  return  to  Charleston.  Practiced  law  successfully.  In  1774  he  was 
sent  to  the  Continental  Congress.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence. Remained  Member  of  Congress  until  1777.  As  captain  in  the  Charles- 
ton Artillery,  of  which  he  afterwards  became  lieutenant-colonel,  he  as- 
sisted in  dislodging  British  regulars  from  Port  Royal  in  1779.  Captured 
in  1780,  he  was  confined  at  St.  Augustine  for  a  year.  Member  of  State 
Constitutional  Convention  in  1790.  Declined  office  of  Associate  Justice, 
United  States  Supreme  Court,  in  1791.  Elected  Governor  of  South  Caro- 
lina in  1798,  but  did  not  live  to  complete  his  term.  In  an  obituary  in  the 
Charleston  City  Gazette  and  Daily  Advertiser  (January  25,  1800)  occur  these 
words:  "His  eloquence,  which  shone  forth  in  the  Senate,  and  at  the  Bar, 
was  brilliant  and  impressive;  it  pleased  the  ear  and  went  home  to  the  heart. 
Rich  in  ideas  and  happy  in  his  manner  of  expressing  them,  he  was  ac- 
customed to  command  attention,  to  delight  as  well  as  to  persuade  his 
audience." 


Washington* s  Southern  Tour 

to  write  him  from  Charleston  extending  invitations  to  him 
to  visit  that  place  and  personally  offering  hospitality  — 
deserves  quotation  in  full,  as  does  Washington's  reply.  It 
is  believed  that  neither  letter  has  hitherto  appeared  in 
print.  The  affectionate,  even  lovable  tone  of  the  letters 
is  to  be  noted.  It  was  said  of  Rutledge  as  a  lawyer  by  Dr. 
Ramsay,  the  historian  of  South  Carolina:  "To  advance  his 
personal  interest  was  a  secondary  object;  to  do  good,  to 
promote  peace,  to  heal  breaches,  to  advance  justice,  was  a 
primary  one."  Follows  Rutledge's  letter  to  Washington : 

Charleston  Novr  II**  1790 
My  dear  Sir, 

I  have  lately  received  Letters,  from  some  of  my  Friends  in 
Congress,  which  give  me  Reason  to  hope  that,  the  time  is  not 
far  distant,  when  we  shall  have  the  Happiness  of  seeing  you 
in  this  State;  and  there  is  no  Citizen  in  this  Country,  who 
feels  a  stronger  attachment  to  you  than  I  do,  or  would  be 
more  rejoiced  at  your  coming,  I  hope  you  will  permit  me  to 
request  that,  you  would  make  my  House  your  Head  Quarters, 
whilst  you  remain  in  this  City.  I  know  there  are  many  Per- 
sons who  would  prize  the  Honor  which  I  seek,  as  justly  as 
they  ought;  but  the  great,  &  never  failing  Regard  that  I  have 
cherished  towards  you,  from  the  first  moments  of  my  Polit- 
ical Life,  thro'  all  the  Chances  of  War,  &  the  Turns  of  For- 
tune, gives  me  I  should  hope  at  least  an  equal,  if  not  a  supe- 
rior Claim  to  you;  &  entitles  me,  to  lodge  under  my  own  Roof, 
the  President,  in  the  Friend.  As  another  Inducement,  I  must 
assure  you  my  dear  Sir,  that  we  have  not,  one  Public  House, 
in  the  whole  State,  which  is  fit  for  your  Reception;  and  that 
to  be  accomodated  with  even  a  moderate  Degree  of  Con- 
venience, you  must  receive  it  in  a  private  House.  If  therefore 
you  will  not  take  up  your  Residence  in  mine,  I  must  provide 
you  with  one  from  among  some  of  my  particular  Friends  who 
may  be  in  the  Country.  It  is  your  only  alternative;  and  as  I 
know  full  well,  how  your  own  Inclination  would  direct  you, 

IO 


Plans  and  Preliminaries 

I  hope  that  no  Consideration  may  intervene  to  prevent  it. 
Excuse  me  my  dear  Sir  if  I  shew  too  much  Solicitude  on  this 
occasion,  &  attribute  it  to  its  true  Cause,  —  the  real  attach- 
ment with  which  I  ever  am,  your  very  affectionate  Friend 
and  obliged  Hble  Serv1 

Ed:  Rutledge1 

Washington  replied  in  the  following  letter: 

Philadelphia,  16  January,  1791. 
My  dear  Sir, 

I  can  but  love  and  thank  you,  and  I  do  it  sincerely,  for  your 
polite  and  friendly  letter  of  the  nth  of  November,  which 
came  to  my  hands  the  day  before  yesterday  only.  The  senti- 
ments contained  in  it  are  such  as  have  uniformly  flowed  from 
your  pen,  and  they  are  not  less  flattering  than  pleasing  to  me. 

The  present  Congress  can  sit  no  longer  than  the  4th  of 
March,  and  should  it  not  be  found  expedient  to  convene  the 
new  one  immediately  upon  the  rising  of  it  —  and  should  not 
the  old  one,  by  Acts  of  the  present  session,  cut  out  work  for  the 
Executive,  which  may  render  my  absence  from  the  seat  of 
government  (soon  after  the  adjournment)  incompatible  with 
my  public  duties;  I  shall  most  assuredly  indulge  myself  in  a 
tour  thro'  the  Southern  States  in  the  Spring  —  But  it  will 
readily  be  perceived  that  this  event  must  depend  upon  the 
time  I  shall  be  able  to  commence  the  journey,  for  I  do  not 
hesitate  to  acknowledge,  that  I  am  not  inclined  to  be  in  the 
southernmost  States  after  the  month  of  May ;  and  my  journey 
must,  on  many  accounts  be  made  slow  and  easy. 

It  was  among  my  first  determinations  when  I  entered  upon 
the  duties  of  my  present  station  to  visit  every  part  of  the 
United  States  in  the  Course  of  my  administration  of  the 
government,  provided  my  health  and  other  circumstances 
would  admit  of  it  —  and  this  determination  was  accompanied 
with  another:  viz.  —  not,  by  making  my  head  quarters  in  pri- 
vate families,  to  become  troublesome  to  them  in  any  of  these 
tours  —  The  first  I  have  accomplished  in  part  only,  without 
departing  in  a  single  instance  from  the  second,  although 

1  In  Letters  to  Washington,  the  Washington  MSS.,  Library  of  Congress. 

II 


Washington? s  Southern  Tour 

pressed  to  it  by  the  most  civil  and  cordial  invitations — ■ 
After  having  made  this  communication  you  will  readily  per- 
ceive, my  dear  Sir,  that  it  is  not  in  my  power  (however  it 
might  comport  with  my  inclinations,)  to  change  my  plan, 
without  exposing  myself  to  the  charge  of  inconsistency,  if  not 
something  more  exceptionable  —  especially  too,  as  it  is  not 
more  than  ten  days  since  I  declined  a  very  kind  and  friendly 
invitation  from  my  namesake  and  kinsman  Colonel  W. 
Washington  of  your  State  to  lodge  at  his  house  when  I 
should  visit  Charleston  — 

With  affectionate  esteem  and  regard 
I  am,  my  dear  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient  Servant, 

G.  Washington.1 

Despite  the  unsettled  state  of  the  Northwest  due  to  the 
recalcitrancy  of  the  Indians,  the  country  on  the  whole  was 
in  a  stable  and  prosperous  condition.  Washington  felt  that 
he  could  now  undertake  the  tour  of  the  Southern  States 
with  a  carefree  spirit.  To  his  warm  friend  and  admirer, 
Colonel  David  Humphreys,2  our  minister  to  Portugal,  he 

1  Washington  MSS.,  Library  of  Congress. 

2  David  Humphreys,  born  at  Derby,  Connecticut,  July,  1754.  After  his 
graduation  from  Yale  College  in  1771,  he  entered  the  army  at  the  opening 
of  the  Revolution  with  the  rank  of  captain.  In  1778  he  was  attached  to 
the  staff  of  General  Putnam,  whose  biography  he  afterwards  wrote.  In  1780 
he  was  appointed  aide-de-camp  to  Washington,  which  place  he  retained  un- 
til the  close  of  hostilities.  At  the  siege  of  Yorktown  he  was  particularly  dis- 
tinguished, and  for  his  gallantry  was  voted  an  elegant  sword  by  Congress. 
Following  the  conclusion  of  hostilities,  he  accompanied  Washington  to 
Mount  Vernon,  remaining  there  for  nearly  a  year.  In  1784,  through  Wash- 
ington's influence,  he  was  appointed  secretary  of  legation  to  Benjamin 
Franklin,  John  Adams,  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  who  were  sent  abroad  to  ne- 
gotiate treaties  of  commerce  and  amity  with  European  Powers.  At  Wash- 
ington's invitation,  he  again  took  up  his  residence  at  Mount  Vernon  in  1790. 
In  that  year  he  was  appointed  the  first  United  States  Minister  to  Portugal. 
After  seven  years  of  residence  at  Lisbon,  he  was  appointed  Minister  to 
Spain  and  resided  at  Madrid  until  he  was  succeeded  by  Charles  C.  Pinck- 
ney  in  1802.   He  won  distinction  as  poet  and  man  of  letters,  receiving  the 

12 


Plans  and  Preliminaries 

could  write  (Philadelphia,  March  16,  1791):  "Peace  and 
tranquility  pervade  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  ex- 
cept on  the  northwest  side  of  the  Ohio.  .  .  .  Our  public 
credit  is  restored,  our  resources  are  increasing,  and  the  gen- 
eral appearance  of  things  at  least  equals  the  most  sanguine 
expectation,  that  was  formed  of  the  effects  of  the  present 
government."  Washington  mentions  that  he  is  setting  off 
"to-morrow  or  next  day  on  a  tour  through  the  Southern 
States,"  and  that  he  is  under  the  necessity  of  commencing 
his  journey  with  very  bad  roads,  in  order  to  "take  such  ad- 
vantage of  the  season  as  to  leave  the  southern  extremity 
before  the  travelling  shall  be  rendered  disagreeable  and 
perhaps  dangerous  by  the  heat."  Washington's  satisfac- 
tion with  the  general  condition  throughout  the  country  is 
voiced  in  similar  strain  in  a  letter  to  Lafayette  (March  19, 
1 791) :  "Our  country,  my  dear  Sir  (and  it  is  truly  yours)  is 
fast  advancing  in  its  political  importance  and  social  happi- 
ness. . . .  The  laws  of  the  United  States,  adapted  to  the 
public  exigencies,  are  framed  with  wisdom  and  modera- 
tion, and  acquiesced  in  with  cheerfulness.  The  adminis- 
tration of  them,  aided  by  the  affectionate  partiality  of  my 
countrymen,  is  attended  with  no  unnecessary  inconven- 
ience, and  every  circumstance  is  auspicious  to  the  felicity 
of  your  fellow  citizens  in  this  section  of  the  globe." 

LL.D.  degree  from  Brown  (1802)  and  Dartmouth  (1804),  and  being  elected 
a  fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  of  London.  He  died  at  New  Haven,  Connecti- 
cut, February  21,  181 8. 


13 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  START 

Philadelphia  to  Mount  Vernon 

IN  devising  plans  for  the  Southern  tour,  Washington  — 
the  most  methodical  and  provident  of  men  —  antici- 
pated every  need  for  making  such  a  journey.  The  three 
important  questions  to  be  decided  were  those  of  a  secre- 
tary, a  route,  and  a  coach  and  retinue.  A  subsidiary  ques- 
tion, on  which  Washington's  mind  was  already  made  up, 
was  that  of  entertainment  —  which  he  either  accepted 
at  the  expense  of  the  municipality  or  paid  for  himself.  In 
a  few  cases  —  due  to  personal  association  or  exigencies  of 
the  road  —  he  accepted  private  hospitality;  but  these  were 
specific  exceptions  which  he  made  to  his  general  rule. 

When  Washington  as  President  went  to  Philadelphia  to 
take  up  his  official  residence,  he  appointed  two  men  as  his 
secretaries,  Tobias  Lear,  Esq.,  and  Major  William  Jack- 
son. With  a  reputation  as  a  soldier  and  a  diplomat,  Jack- 
son had  earlier  so  won  the  approbation  of  Washington 
as  to  be  selected  Secretary  of  the  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion.1 Jackson  here  played  an  important  role,  making 
daily  notes  of  the  secret  sessions;  and  these  notes,  which 
Jackson  promised  Washington  should  not  be  published 
during  the  latter's  lifetime,  have  never  yet,  it  appears,  seen 
the  light  of  day.  Jackson  accompanied  Washington  on  his 

1  Relying  on  the  endorsement  of  such  men  as  Laurens  and  Lincoln, 
Washington  pronounced  in  favor  of  Jackson,  although  Franklin  is  said  to 
have  made  strong  pleas  for  the  selection  of  his  grandson,  who  was  not  so 
well  fitted  by  ability  and  training  for  the  post. 


Philadelphia  to  Mount  Vernon 

tour  of  the  Eastern  States ;  and  proved  so  efficient  in  that 
capacity  that  Washington  found  him  indispensable  for 
the  Southern  tour.  Jackson  was  a  facile  speaker  and  gifted 
writer;  and  his  oration  before  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati 
(July  4,  1786)  and  his  eulogy  on  the  character  of  Wash- 
ington (February  22,  1800)  have  been  highly  praised.  All 
of  the  replies  to  the  numerous  addresses  made  to  Wash- 
ington on  his  Southern  tour  were  drafted  by  Jackson 
and  merely  signed  by  Washington.  These  compositions 
are  not  of  sufficient  literary  merit  to  invite  discussion 
regarding  their  authorship;  but  doubtless  Washington 
ordinarily  blocked  out  the  essential  features  of  his  reply 
in  talk  with  Jackson,  and  afterwards  carefully  revised  the 
draft  submitted  to  him.  When  Washington  received  an 
address,  it  was  his  custom  —  as  he  was  wholly  lacking  in 
the  readiness  and  volubility  of  the  orator  —  to  transmit 
to  the  body  presenting  the  address  a  formal  written  reply 
at  a  later  time.  Although  printed  simultaneously,  it  was 
seldom  that  address  and  reply  were  delivered  in  immediate 
succession.  This  happened  when  a  definite  hour  was  set 
for  the  public  address,  and  Major  Jackson  was  supplied  in 
advance  with  a  copy  of  the  address  to  be  delivered.  Major 
Jackson  was  an  ideal  secretary  —  and  spared  Washington 
all  possible  drudgery  and  detail.  Washington  could  never 
quite  escape  the  cares  of  office,  however  —  for  official  let- 
ters pursued  him  and  lay  in  wait  for  him  at  different 
stages  of  his  journey.1 

1  William  Jackson  was  born  in  Cumberland,  England,  March  9,  1759  — 
his  mother  being  of  Scotch  descent.    Removing  to  Charleston  before  he 

15 


Washington* s  Southern  Tour 

The  various  routes  for  the  journey  were  studied  —  and 
both  tables  of  distances  and  maps  of  the  highways  passed 
beneath  Washington's  eye  before  his  departure.  He  care- 
fully considered  the  relative  merits  of  the  two  routes  from 
Petersburg,  Virginia,  to  New  Berne,  North  Carolina,  one 
by  Halifax,  the  other  by  Edenton.  "A  wide  ferry,  and  its 
being  a  little  further,"  we  read  in  a  Charleston  newspaper, 
"deterred  him  from  going  by  Edenton,  as  his  time  is 
precious."  Before  his  departure,  Washington  carefully 
drew  up  in  his  own  handwriting  an  exact  itinerary  giving 
dates  and  distances,  of  date  March  10,  1791,  and  labelled 
"Route  &  Stages  of  G.  Washington  in  the  yr.  1791  which 
he  performed  at  the  time."  l  So  precise  was  Washington  in 

was  seventeen,  he  quickly  obtained  a  commission  as  Lieutenant  in  the 
First  South  Carolina  Infantry,  of  which  his  guardian,  Owen  Roberts,  was 
Major.  During  the  Revolution  he  served  with  ability,  was  commissioned 
Captain  with  rank  of  Major  in  October,  1779,  and  was  captured  at  the  sur- 
render of  Charleston  in  May,  1880.  Soon  exchanged,  he  became  secretary 
to  Colonel  Laurens,  whom  he  accompanied  to  France,  whither  Laurens 
went  as  special  envoy  in  1781.  As  the  result  of  his  successful  diplomatic 
negotiations  with  Franklin,  which  smoothed  the  way  for  the  successful 
expedition  of  the  French  fleets  and  army  to  the  United  States,  he  won  the 
commendation  and  good-will  of  John  Adams.  After  a  few  years  he  settled 
down  to  the  practice  of  law  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  was  admitted  to 
practice  in  1788.  In  1795  he  was  married  to  Elizabeth  Willing,  second 
daughter  of  Thomas  Willing,  President  of  the  Bank  of  North  America,  one 
of  Philadelphia's  greatest  merchants  of  the  period.  From  1796  to  1802  he 
was  Surveyor  of  the  Port  of  Philadelphia;  and  after  his  removal,  on  political 
grounds,  by  Jefferson,  he  edited  the  Federalist  organ,  The  Political  and 
Commercial  Register.  Dying  December  17,  1828,  he  was  buried  in  the 
burial  ground  of  Christ  Church,  Philadelphia,  near  the  grave  of  Franklin. 
1  This  large  sheet  is  headed:  "If  the  President  of  the  United  States 
should  be  able  to  commence  his  tour  through  the  Southern  States  on  the 
10th  of  March  it  will  be  regulated  as  follows."  Other  routes  memoranda, 
mainly  in  Washington's  handwriting  and  found  in  volume  249  of  the 
Washington  Papers,  Library  of  Congress,  are  as  follows:  Table  of  distances 
endorsed  "Road  from  Phila.  to  Charleston"  (the  date  is  1781,  but  this  is 
a  palpable  mistake  for  1791);  Table  headed  "Distances  giving  miles  by 

16 


WILLIAM   JACKSON 


THE  I  WARY 

OF  THE 

UMVERSin  OF  iiUNOIS 


Philadelphia  to  Mount  Vernon 

his  arrangements  that  he  actually  supplied  his  Cabinet 
officers  in  advance  of  the  tour  with  a  complete  itinerary 
and  time  schedule. 

Long  in  advance  of  the  trip  Washington  had  his  "Char- 
riot,"  l  as  he  called  it,  thoroughly  overhauled  by  the  firm  of 

stage  between  Petersburg  &  New  Berne  by  2  routes";  Map  showing  the 
above  routes  (large  double  folio  page),  partly  in  ink,  partly  in  pencil  — one 
route  by  Halifax,  the  other  by  Edenton;  Route  from  Richmond  to  Eden- 
ton;  Memorandum  "  for  Maj.  Jackson  concerning  the  Road  through  N.  &  S. 
Carolina,"  three  and  a  half  pages  in  length;  Route  from  Petersburg  to 
Charleston  via  Edenton  and  via  Halifax;  Route  from  Savannah  to  Augusta. 
1  Lossing's  sketch  of  Washington's  coach,  in  his  book  on  Mount  Vernon, 
is  incorrect  in  several  particulars  —  although  it  is  a  true  replica  of  the  coach 
in  shape.  He  shows  the  crest  on  the  doors,  not  enclosed  in  ovals;  the  four 
seasons  on  the  quarter  panels,  and  Venetian  blinds  in  the  front  of  the  coach 
with  apparently  no  glass.  The  coach  was  a  duplicate  in  shape  of  the  Powel 
coach  displayed  at  the  Centennial  Exposition  in  Philadelphia  in  1876;  and 
was,  it  is  supposed,  ordered  from  England  at  the  same  time  as  the  Powel 
coach.  The  bill  submitted  Washington  by  Messrs.  Clark,  printed  below, 
is  very  informing.  It  should  be  read  in  connection  with  certain  letters 
in  the  Washington  Correspondence,  Library  of  Congress,  Washington  to 
Lear,  September  5,  1790;  Daniel  and  Francis  Clark  to  Washington,  Sep- 
tember 13,  1790;  Washington  to  Daniel  and  Francis  Clark,  September  17, 
1790;  Tobias  Lear  to  Washington,  October  24,  1790.  Compare  also  Custis: 
Recollections,  p.  424;  Scharf  and  Westcott:  History  of  Philadelphia,  p.  473; 
and  The  Washington  Coachee  and  Powel  Coach,  by  Mrs.  Mary  Stevens 
Beall  for  Robert  L.  Brownfield  (Washington,  1908).  Follows  the  bill,  in  the 
Washington  Correspondence,  of  Daniel  and  Francis  Clark: 

Taking  out  the  Creansand  Reasing  higher  &  a  pair  of  new  Shafts £7. 10.0 

A  new  iron  Coach  box  Sett 3. 15.0 

A  new  Ruff  Leather  &  new  Conish 4.12.6 

linning  the  Boady  with  u>£  yards  of  Superfine  Cloath  at 

37-6  pr  yard 21 .  11 .3 

Leaces  Glass  string  &c'  a 8. 14.0  38.  5 .3 

making  and  putting  in  Do 8. 10.0 

A  new  fulle  trimed  hamer  Cloath 12.00 

repairs  wanted  to  the  boady  &  2  pair  of  new  hinges 2.0.0 

A  pair  of  new  double  inside  foulding  Steps 5  .  10.0 

4  new  bands  to  the  hoobs  of  the  wheels o.  10.0 

Painting  the  Boady  and  high  Varnishing 5. 10.0 

Boarder  rond  all  the  pannels  from  £8.  to  £115 

Ornaments  &  Coats  of  Arms 4. 10.0 

Guilding  the  frame  work  Solid 6.00.0 

Painting  Carraige  and  wheels 2.10.0 

17 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

carriage-makers,  Daniel  and  Francis  Clark,  of  Philadel- 
phia. This  was  his  "old  coach,"  which  means,  I  take  it, 
that  it  was  not  his  newest  one.  In  color  the  chariot  was 
white ;  there  were  beautiful  designs  of  the  four  seasons  by 
Cypriani  painted  on  the  doors  and  front  and  back;  the 
Washington  coat  of  arms  within  ovals  was  painted  on  the 
four  quarter  panels;  there  were  four  Venetian  blinds  on 
the  side  in  the  shape  of  quarter-ellipses,  and  four  (two 
each)  on  front  and  back  of  rectangular  shape ;  and  there 
were  glass  windows  in  the  front  of  the  coach;  the  whole 
framework  and  the  springs  were  gilded ;  there  were  plated 
door  handles,  plated  brass  buckles,  plated  mouldings 
round  the  roof,  and  a  pair  of  double  inside  folding  steps. 
"In  this  tour,"  says  Washington  in  his  diary,  "I  was  ac- 
companied by  Major  Jackson,  my  equipage  &  attendance 
consisted  of  a  Charriot  &  four  horses  drove  in  hand  — 
a  light  baggage  waggon  and  two  horses  —  four  saddle 
horses  beside  a  led  one  for  myself  and  five  —  to  wit  — 
my  Valet  de  Chambre,  two  footmen,  Coachman  &  pos- 
tilion." The  outriders  in  their  bright  livery  of  red  and 
white  gave  a  touch  of  gallantry  and  distinction  to  the 
equipage  and  cavalcade.  Writing  to  Lafayette  on  March 
19th,  Washington  says:  "The  tender  concern,  which  you 

Picking  in  Do 1.10.0 

8  Vinison  blinds 11. 10. o 

Gilding  the  Springs 1.   5.0 

A  sett  of  Silke  festoon  Curtains  with  fringes  and  tosals  to  all  the  insid  of 

the  Ruff 8.  0.0 

In  the  Gazette  0/  the  United  States  (Philadelphia,  March  23,  1791)  the 
coach  is  described  as  a  "new  charriot,"  "built  by  Mr.  Clark  of  this  city, 
and  may  be  pronounced  a  superior  specimen  of  mechanical  perfection  in 
that  time."  It  appears  that  it  was  neither  "new"  nor  "built"  by  Mr.  Clark. 

18 


Philadelphia  to  Mount  Vernon 

express  on  my  last  illness,  awakens  emotions,  which  words 
will  not  explain,  and  to  which  your  own  sensibility  can 
best  do  justice.  My  health  is  now  quite  restored,  and  I 
flatter  myself  with  the  hope  of  a  long  exemption  from  sick- 
ness. On  Monday  next  I  shall  enter  on  the  practice  of  your 
friendly  prescription  of  exercise,  intending  at  that  time  to 
begin  a  journey  to  the  southward,  during  which  I  propose 
visiting  all  the  Southern  States." 

On  Monday  morning,  March  21st,  a  small  crowd  gath- 
ered in  front  of  190  High  Street,  the  large  double  house 
occupied  by  the  Washington  family,  to  witness  the  de- 
parture of  the  President  on  his  Southern  tour.  On  the 
boot  of  the  white  chariot  was  John  Fagan,  the  Hessian 
coachman;1  and  attending  the  President  were  the  Honor- 
able Thomas  Jefferson,  the  Secretary  of  State,  General 
Henry  Knox,  Secretary  of  War,  and  the  President's  Sec- 
retary, Major  Jackson.  At  eleven  o'clock,  in  the  language 
of  a  contemporary,  "  the  coachman  gave  a  rustling  flourish 
with  his  lash,  which  produced  a  plunging  motion  in  the 
leading  horses,  reined  in  by  the  postilions,  and  striking 

1  Fagan  drove  for  the  President  throughout  his  whole  tour  of  the  South- 
ern States.  "On  the  president's  return,"  says  G.  W.  P.  Custis,  "Clarke  was 
in  attendance  to  learn  the  success  of  [the  coach  in  withstanding  the  hard- 
ships of  the  journey].  No  sooner  had  the  horses  stopped  at  the  door  of  the 
presidential  mansion  than  the  anxious  coach  maker  was  under  the  body  of 
the  white  chariot,  examining  everything  with  a  careful  and  critical  eye,  till 
Fagan  shouted  from  the  box,  'All  right,  Mr.  Clarke,  all  right,  sir,  not  a  bolt 
or  screw  started  in  a  long  journey  and  over  the  devil's  own  roads."'  So 
delighted  was  the  coach-maker  that  he  held  a  jollification  at  his  shop  over 
the  splendid  showing  of  the  coach  which  he  had  so  excellently  repaired.  If 
the  story  is  true,  it  is  highly  probable  that  Fagan  was  "spoofing"  Mr. 
Clark  about  the  bolts  and  screws.  Compare  G.  W.  P.  Custis,  Recollections 
and  Private  Memoirs  of  Washington  (New  York,  i860),  pp.  424-25. 

19 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

flakes  of  fire  between  their  heels  and  the  pebbles  beneath 

—  when 

Crack  went  the  whip,  round  went  the  wheels, 
As  though  the  High  Street  were  mad." 

Washington  was  accompanied  as  far  as  Delaware  by 
Mr.  Jefferson  and  General  Knox.  The  events  of  the  next 
few  days  —  in  particular  a  certain  dangerous  and  alarming 
experience  —  are  fully  described  by  Washington  in  his 
diary  as  follows: 

Monday. 

Left  Philadelphia  about  n  o'clock  to  make  a  tour  through 
the  Southern  States.  —  Reached  Chester  about  3  o'clock  — 
dined  &  lodged  at  Mr.  Wythes  —  Roads  exceedingly  deep, 
heavy  &  cut  in  places  by  the  Carriages  which  used  them. 

In  this  tour  I  was  accompanied  by  Majr.  Jackson  . . . 

Tuesday,  iind. 

At  half  past  6  o'clock  we  left  Chester,  &  breakfasted  at 
Wilmington.  —  Finding  the  Roads  very  heavy  —  and  receiv- 
ing unfavourable  Accts.  of  those  between  this  place  and  Balti- 
more, I  determined  to  cross  the  Bay  by  the  way  of  Rockhall 

—  and  crossing  Christiana  Creek  proceeded  through  New- 
castle &  by  the  Red  Lyon  to  the  Buck  tavern  13  miles  from 
Newcastle  and  19  from  Wilmington  where  we  dined  and 
lodged.  — At  the  Red  Lyon  we  gave  the  horses  a  bite  of  Hay 

—  during  their  eating  of  which  I  discovered  that  one  of  those 
wch.  drew  the  Baggage  waggon  was  lame  and  apprd.  other- 
wise much  indisposed  —  had  him  bled  and  afterwards  led  to 
the  Buck-tavern. 

This  is  a  better  house  than  the  appearances  indicate. 

Wednesday,  23d. 

Set  off  at  6  o'clock  —  breakfasted  at  Warwick  —  bated 
with  hay  9  miles  farther  —  and  dined  and  lodged  at  the 
House  of  one  Worrell's  in  Chester;  from  whence  —  I  sent 

20 


Philadelphia  to  Mount  Vernon 

an  Express  to  Rock  Hall  to  have  Boats  ready  for  me  by  9 
o'clock  to-morrow  morning  —  after  doing  which  Captn.  Nich- 
olson obligingly  set  out  for  that  place  to  see  that  every  thing 
should  [be]  prepared  agaiDst  my  arrival. 

The  lame  horse  was  brought  on,  and  while  on  the  Road 
apprd.  to  move  tolerably  well,  but  as  soon  as  he  stopped, 
discovered  a  stiffness  in  all  his  limbs,  which  indicated  some 
painful  disorder  —  I  fear  a  Chest  founder  —  My  riding  horse 
also  appeard  to  be  very  unwell,  his  appetite  had  entirely 
failed  him. 

The  Winter  grain  along  the  Road  appeared  promising  and 
abundant. 

Thursday ,  24th. 

Left  Chestertown  about  6  o'clock  —  before  nine  I  arrived 
at  Rock-Hall  where  we  breakfasted  and  immediately:  after 
which  we  began  to  embark  —  The  doing  of  which  employed 
us  (for  want  of  contrivance)  until  near  3  o'clock  —  and  then 
one  of  my  Servants  (Paris)  &  two  horses  were  left,  notwith- 
standing two  Boats  in  aid  of  the  two  Ferry  Boats  were  pro- 
cured. —  Unluckily,  embarking  on  board  of  a  borrowed  Boat 
because  she  was  the  largest,  I  was  in  imminent  danger,  from 
the  unskillfulness  of  the  hands,  and  the  dulness  of  her  sail- 
ing, added  to  the  darkness  and  storminess  of  the  night  —  for 
two  hours  after  we  hoisted  sail  the  wind  was  light  and  ahead 

—  the  next  hour  was  a  stark  calm  —  after  which  the  wind 
sprung  up  at  So.  Et.  and  increased  until  it  blew  a  gale  — 
about  which  time,  and  after  8  o'clock  p.m.  we  made  the 
Mouth  of  Severn  River  (leading  up  to  Annapolis)  but  the  ig- 
norance of  the  People  on  board,  with  respect  to  the  naviga- 
tion of  it  run  us  a  ground  first  on  Greenbury  point  from 
whence  with  much  exertion  and  difficulty  we  got  off;  & 
then,  having  no  knowledge  of  the  Channel  and  the  night  be- 
ing immensely  dark  with  heavy  and  variable  squals  of  wind 

—  constant  lightning  &  tremendous  thunder  —  we  soon 
got  aground  again  on  what  is  called  Home's  point  —  where 
finding  all  efforts  in  vain,  &  not  knowing  where  we  were 
we  remained,  not  knowing  what  might  happen,  till  morn- 
ing. 

21 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 


Friday,  l^th. 

Having  lain  all  night  in  my  Great  Coat  &  Boots,  in  a  birth 
not  long  enough  for  me  by  the  head,  &  much  cramped;  we 
found  ourselves  in  the  morning  within  about  one  mile  of 
Annapolis,  &  still  fast  aground.  —  Whilst  we  were  preparing 
our  small  Boat  in  order  to  land  in  it,  a  sailing  Boat  came  of 
to  our  assistance  in  wch.  with  the  Baggage  I  had  on  Board  I 
landed,  &  requested  Mr.  Man  at  whose  Inn  I  intended  lodg- 
ing, to  send  off  a  Boat  to  take  off  two  of  my  Horses  &  Char- 
iot which  I  had  left  on  board  and  with  it  my  Coachman  to 
see  that  it  was  properly  done  —  but  by  mistake  the  latter 
not  having  notice  of  this  order  &  attempting  to  get  on  board 
afterwards  in  a  small  sailing  Boat  was  overset  and  narrowly 
escaped  drowning. 

Was  informed  upon  my  arrival  (when  15  Guns  were  fired) 
that  all  my  other  horses  arrived  safe  that  embarked  at  the 
same  time  I  did,  about  8  o'clock  last  night. 

In  the  Maryland  Journal  and  Baltimore  Advertiser 
(April  5,  1791)  appeared  an  account  of  the  delayed  em- 
barcation  at  Rock-Hall  quite  characteristic  of  the  senti- 
mental style  of  the  day,  referring  to  Washington  amus- 
ingly enough  —  though  doubtless  all  readers  accepted  it 
with  unbroken  solemnity  —  as  the  "chief  treasure  of 
America."  Says  this  account:  "The  vessel,  which  con- 
tained the  chief  treasure  of  America  did  not  enter  the  river 
Severn  until  ten  o'clock  in  a  dark  tempestuous  night.  She 
struck  on  a  bar,  or  point,  within  about  a  mile  of  the  city; 
and  although  she  made  a  signal  of  distress,  it  was  impos- 
sible, before  daylight,  to  go  to  her  relief.  The  guardian- 
angel  of  America  was  still  watchful ;  and  we  are  happy  in 
assuring  our  countrymen  that  the  health  of  their  dearest 

friend  has  not  been  at  all  affected  by  an  accident  far  more 

22 


Philadelphia  to  Mount  Vernon 

distressing,  to  those  who  were  apprized  or  rather  appre- 
hensive of  his  situation  than  to  himself." 

As  soon  as  the  Governor,  John  Eager  Howard,1  heard  on 
Thursday  evening  that  Washington  was  on  his  way  to 
Annapolis  from  Rock-Hall,  he  in  company  with  several 
gentlemen  set  sail  in  a  boat  to  meet  the  President  —  "  but 
turned  back  when  it  grew  dark  and  squally."  On  Friday 
morning  he  called  upon  Washington  at  Mann's  Tavern, 
and  extended  to  him  two  invitations:  to  attend  a  public 
dinner  that  day  to  be  given  at  Mann's  Tavern  by  the 
citizens  of  Annapolis,  and  to  dine  with  him  the  next  day, 
both  of  which  the  President  accepted.  After  breakfast, 
attended  by  the  Governor  and  a  "number  of  respectable 
citizens,"  he  went  for  a  walk  about  the  city.  Crowded 
with  fateful  recollections  —  though  the  "  historic  sense  " 
seems  strangely  in  abeyance  in  Washington  if  we  judge 
by  the  diary  alone  —  must  have  been  his  visit  to  the  State 
House  "which  seems  to  be  much  out  of  repairs."  Here  in 
December,  1783,  the  Continental  Congress  assembled  to 
receive  his  resignation  as  Commander-in-Chief;  and  here 

1  John  Eager  Howard,  son  of  Cornelius  and  Ruth  (Eager)  Howard,  was 
born  on  his  father's  estate,  on  the  Reisterstown  Road,  Baltimore  County, 
Maryland,  near  the  site  of  present  Garrison  Forest  Church,  on  property 
now  owned  by  Howard  Sills,  Esq.,  June  4,  1752,  and  educated  by  private 
tutors.  He  served  throughout  the  Revolutionary  War;  was  in  the  battle 
of  White  Plains,  October  28, 1776,  and  at  the  battle  of  Germantown,  Oct- 
ober 4,  1777.  In  June,  1779,  he  was  promoted  Lieutenant-Colonel.  He 
was  present  at  the  battle  of  Camden,  and  was  the  hero  of  the  battle  of 
Cowpens,  turning  defeat  into  victory  for  the  Americans. 

Howard  was  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress  in  1787  and  1788, 
and  Governor  of  Maryland  1788-91.  He  served  in  the  United  States  Sen- 
ate, 1796-1803.  In  1795  he  was  offered  the  portfolio  of  war  by  Washington, 
but  declined  it.  He  was  a  prominent  Federalist.  He  died  at  Belvedere,  Oc- 
tober 12,  1827. 

23 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

he  stood  as  the  memorable  reply  of  Congress,  written  by 
Jefferson,  was  pronounced,  concluding  with  these  words: 
"Having  defended  the  standard  of  liberty  in  this  new 
world ;  having  taught  a  lesson  to  those  who  inflict,  and  to 
those  who  feel  oppression,  you  retire  from  the  great  theatre 
of  action  with  the  blessings  of  your  fellow-citizens ;  but  the 
glory  of  your  virtues  will  not  terminate  with  your  military 
command,  it  will  continue  to  animate  remotest  ages." 

At  ten  o'clock  the  party  reached  the  College  of  St.  John, 
at  which,  records  Washington,  "there  are  about  80  stu- 
dents of  every  description."  One  immortal  in  patriotic 
verse,  Francis  Scott  Key,  entering  November  11,  1789, 
was  graduated  here  in  1796.  This  college  has  a  history 
connected  with  the  earliest  efforts  to  establish  a  college  in 
Maryland  (1671)  and  had  its  foundation  in  King  William's 
School,  provided  for  in  a  legislative  act  of  1696.  The  char- 
ter of  St.  John's  College,  however,  was  not  actually  granted 
until  nearly  a  century  later  (1784).  The  college  was  for- 
mally opened,  with  solemn  ceremonies,  on  November  11, 
1789.1  Washington  had  close  affiliations  with  the  college  — 
among  the  students  during  the  early  period  of  St.  John's 
College  being  George  Washington  Parke  Custis,  a  stepson, 
and  Fairfax  and  Lawrence  Washington,  nephews  of  the 
President.   During  his  visit  at  this  time  Washington  "ex- 

1  The  brick  school-house  of  King  William's  School  was  completed  in 
1 701.  The  man  chiefly  instrumental  in  obtaining  the  passage  of  the  act 
resulting  in  the  establishment  of  this  school  was  the  Reverend  Doctor 
Thomas  Bray,  who  had  been  appointed  Commissioner  of  Maryland  by  the 
Bishop  of  London,  and  who  is  credited  with  being  the  originator  of  the  Soci- 
ety for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel.  Consult  Philip  R.  Voorhees:  St. 
John's  College. 

24 


SAINT  JOHN  S  COLLEGE,   ANNAPOLIS,   MARYLAND 


THE  HBftARY 

OF  IHE 

MIKITY  or  :i !  ml$ 


Philadelphia  to  Mount  Vernon 

pressed  much  satisfaction  at  the  appearance  of  this  rising 
seminary."  On  the  day  following  Washington's  visit, 
the  faculty  of  the  college  drew  up  an  address  to  the  Presi- 
dent which  is  here  given  in  full : 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

Sir, 

We,  the  Faculty  of  St.  John's  College  beg  leave  to  express 
the  sincere  joy  which  the  honour  of  your  presence  in  our  infant 
seminary  afforded  us.  In  common  with  all  those  who  super- 
intend the  education  of  youth,  we  must  feel  a  lively  gratitude 
to  the  defender  of  liberty,  the  guardian  of  his  country,  and 
consequently  the  great  patron  of  literature.  But  as  this 
seminary  was  begun  since  the  united  voice  of  free  America 
called  you  to  preside  over  its  most  important  interest,  and 
ensured  to  them  the  continuance  of  those  blessings  which 
your  calm  foresight  and  steady  fortitude  had  been  the  happy 
means  of  procuring,  it  seems  in  a  peculiar  manner  to  lookup 
to  you  with  filial  respect.  That  it  dates  its  birth  from  this 
grand  aera,  which  has  placed  you  at  the  head  of  fifteen  dis- 
tinct sovereign  states  united  into  one  mighty  republic,  is 
regarded  by  its  friends  as  an  auspicious  circumstance  and 
flattering  assurance  of  its  future  eminence  and  usefulness. 
To  the  friend  of  virtue  and  his  country,  the  rise  of  colleges 
where  the  youth  of  generations  yet  unborn,  may  be  taught 
to  admire  and  emulate  the  great  and  good,  must  give  a  heart- 
felt delight,  as  they  promise  perpetuity  to  the  labours  and 
renown  of  the  patriot  and  hero. 

Our  earnest  prayers,  that  a  kind  Providence  may  con- 
stantly watch  over  you,  and  preserve  a  life,  long  indeed, 
already,  if  measured  by  deeds  of  worth  and  fulness  of  honours 
but  too  short  as  yet  for  your  country. 

Signed  in  behalf,  and  at  the  request  of  the  Faculty, 

John  M.  Dowell,  Pr. 

March  16,  1791. 

To  which  the  President  made  the  following  reply: 

25 


Washington* s  Southern  Tour 

To  the  Faculty  of  St.  John's  College. 

Gentlemen, 

The  satisfaction  which  I  have  derived  from  my  visit  to 
your  infant  seminary,  is  expressed  with  real  pleasure,  and 
my  wishes  for  its  progress  to  perfection  are  preferred  with 
sincere  regard. 

The  very  promising  appearance  of  its  infancy  must  flatter 
all  its  friends  (among  them  I  intreat  you  to  class  me)  with 
the  hope  of  an  early,  and  at  the  same  time,  a  mature  man- 
hood. 

You  will  do  justice  to  the  sentiments,  which  your  kind 
regard  towards  myself  inspires,  by  believing  that  I  recip- 
rocate the  good  wishes  contained  in  your  address,  and  I  sin- 
cerely hope  the  excellence  of  your  seminary  will  be  manifested 
in  the  morals  and  science  of  the  youth  who  are  favoured  with 
your  care. 

G.  Washington 

After  accompanying  Mrs.  Howard  (whom  Washington 
calls  Mrs.  "Howell")  to  the  Governor's  home,  the  Presi- 
dent dined  at  Mann's  Tavern  with  "  a  numerous  company 
of  inhabitants."  The  following  toasts  were  proposed  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  dinner  each  of  which  was  announced  by 
the  discharge  of  cannon: 

i.  The  People  of  the  United  States  of  America. 
1.  The  Congress. 

3.  The  dearest  Friend  of  his  Country. 

4.  The  State  of  Maryland. 

5.  Wisdom,  Justice  and  Harmony,  in  all  our  Public  Coun- 
cils. 

6.  Agriculture,  Manufactures,  Commerce,  and  Learning, 
may  they  all  flourish  with  virtue  and  true  Religion. 

7.  The  king  of  the  French. 

8.  The  National  Assembly  of  France. 

9.  The  Sieur  la  Fayette,  and  generous  Friends  to  America 
in  the  Day  of  her  Distress. 

26 


Philadelphia  to  Mowit  Vernon 

io.  The  memory  of  all  those  who  have  fallen  in  the  Cause 
of  America. 

11.  The  Patriots  of  all  Nations  and  Ages. 

12.  The  powers  of  Europe  friendly  to  America. 

13.  May  all  inhabitants  of  the  Earth  be  taught  to  consider 
each  other  as  Fellow-Citizens. 

14.  The  virtuous  Daughters  of  America. 

15.  The  perpetual  Union  of  distinct  Sovereign  States  under 
an  efficient  Federal  Head. 

Symptomatic  of  an  unsophisticated  society  was  the  next 
to  the  last  toast  with  its  superfluous  adjective;  while  the 
last  is  significant  of  the  slowly  maturing  faith  in  the  Union. 

Saturday,  26th,  was  a  day  full  of  happenings  —  although 
there  is  nothing  of  note  to  record.  In  the  forenoon,  the 
President  remained  in  his  room  —  preparing  papers  and 
documents  in  anticipation  of  the  coming  meeting  at 
George  Town  on  the  following  Monday,  concerning  laying 
out  the  district  for  the  federal  seat.  The  President  dined 
at  Governor  Howard's  with  a  large  company;  and  in  the 
evening  until  half  past  ten  o'clock  he  attended  a  ball,  "at 
which  was  exhibited  everything,  which  this  little  city  con- 
tains of  beauty  and  elegance."  The  pleasure  of  the  entire 
community  in  the  visit  of  the  President  manifested  itself 
through  the  columns  of  a  Baltimore  newspaper  in  which 
we  read:  "It  is  no  exaggeration  to  declare  that,  during 
two  days,  all  care  seemed  suspended ;  and  the  inhabitants 
of  a  whole  town  were  made  happy  in  contemplating  him 
whom  they  consider  as  their  safest  friend,  as  well  as  the 
most  exalted  of  their  fellow-citizens  and  the  first  of  men." 
At  nine  o'clock  on  Sunday  morning  the  President  left  the 

city  "under  a  discharge  of  Artillery,"  being  accompanied 

27 


Washington"* s  Southern  Tour 

by  "many  of  the  Gentlemen  of  Annapolis  (among  whom 
was  the  Chancellor  of  the  State) "  as  far  as  the  ferry  over 
South  River.  On  his  journey  to  Georgetown  he  was  ac- 
companied by  the  Governor,  a  Mr.  Kilty  of  the  Council, 
and  Mr.  Charles  Stuart.  Records  the  President:  "Bated 
at  Queen  Ann,  13  miles  distant  and  lodged  at  Bladens- 
burgh." 

The  location  of  the  federal  district  was  a  matter  of  na- 
tional interest.  The  negotiations  which  had  to  be  carried 
on  and  the  numerous  difficulties  which  had  to  be  encoun- 
tered were  tests  of  Washington's  patience,  wisdom,  and 
diplomacy  which  he  amply  met.  The  decision  as  to  the 
location  of  the  federal  district  was  made  on  January  24, 
1 79 1,  on  which  date  the  President  sent  a  message  to  Con- 
gress regarding  the  matter,  suggesting  amendatory  legisla- 
tion for  extending  the  limits  of  the  federal  district.  The 
suggestions  of  Washington  were  incorporated  by  Congress 
on  March  3d  in  an  amendatory  law;  and  the  commissioners 
appointed  by  Washington  were  Thomas  Johnson  1  and 

1  Thomas  Johnson,  son  of  Thomas  and  Dorcas  (Sedgewick)  Johnson, 
Maryland's  first  State  Governor,  was  born  at  St.  Leonard's  on  November 
4,  1732.  He  studied  law  in  Annapolis;  was  a  leader  in  the  pre-Revolution- 
ary  agitation  in  Maryland;  became  a  prominent  member  of  the  first  Con- 
tinental Congress,  being  reelected  in  1776.  On  October  2,  1774,  when  a  res- 
olution was  passed  by  Congress  that  an  address  to  the  Crown  should  be 
prepared,  Mr.  Johnson  was  selected,  with  R.  H.  Lee,  John  Adams,  and 
Patrick  Henry,  to  write  it;  he  was  a  member  of  the  provincial  committee  of 
correspondents,  and  a  member  of  the  Council  of  Safety.  It  was  he  who  on 
June  15,  1775,  nominated  George  Washington  for  Commander-in-Chief  of 
the  Continental  forces.  He  was  Governor  of  Maryland  1777-79.  He  was 
returned  to  the  Provincial  Congress  in  1780  and  became  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Delegates  in  the  same  year.  From  1781  to  1787  he  sat  in  the  Con- 
tinental Congress,  became  a  supporter  of  the  Constitution,  and  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Maryland  Convention  which  ratified  that  instrument  in  1789. 

28 


1-1 

o 

a 

< 
u 

w 

s 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF  [HE 

BttlVEMITY  0P  U  !  m$ 


Philadelphia  to  Mount  Vernon 

Daniel  Carroll,1  of  Maryland,  and  David  Stuart,2  of  Vir- 
ginia. 

Certain  of  the  property-holders  within  the  district  inter- 
posed many  obstacles,  notably  the  man  who  has  gone  down 
in  the  annals  of  the  city  as  "the  obstinate  Mr.  Burns." 
More  than  a  month  prior  to  the  time  the  commissioners 
first  took  up  their  work,  the  President  appointed  Andrew 
Ellicott 3  to  survey  the  bounds  of  the  district  and  Pierre 

On  April  20,  1790,  he  was  appointed  Chief  Judge  of  the  General  Court  of 
Maryland,  surrendering  the  office  November  7,  1791,  that  he  might  assume 
the  duties  of  Associate  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

When  Edmund  Randolph  resigned  the  portfolio  of  State  in  1795,  Presi- 
dent Washington  wrote  to  Mr.  Johnson  as  follows:  "The  office  of  Secretary 
of  State  is  vacant,  occasioned  by  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Randolph.  Will 
you  accept  it?  You  know  my  wishes  of  old  to  bring  you  into  the  adminis- 
tration. Where,  then,  is  the  necessity  of  repeating  them?  .  .  .  No  time 
more  than  the  present  ever  required  the  aid  of  your  abilities."  Mr. 
Johnson's  letter  declining  the  office  reveals  the  extreme  modesty  which 
worked  such  havoc  with  his  fame. 

Mr.  Johnson  was  a  member  of  the  commission  which  laid  out  the  city  of 
Washington.   He  died  at  Rose  Hill,  Frederick,  October  26,  1819. 

1  Daniel  Carroll  was  born  in  Prince  George's  County,  Maryland,  in 
1756.  He  received  a  classical  education  and  lived  on  his  estate,  afterwards 
part  of  the  City  of  Washington,  D.C.  From  1780  to  1784  he  was  delegate 
from  Maryland  to  the  Continental  Congress.  He  was  also  a  delegate  to  the 
Convention  that  framed  the  Federal  Constitution.  In  1788  he  was  elected 
Representative  from  Maryland  to  the  first  United  States  Congress,  serving 
from  March  4,  1789,  to  March  3,  1791.  He  was  active  in  securing  the 
establishment  of  a  seat  of  government,  and  in  1791  was  appointed  by  Presi- 
dent Washington  a  commissioner  to  locate  the  District  of  Columbia  and  the 
capital  city.  He  died  at "  Duddington,"  his  home  near  Washington,  in  1 829. 

2  David  Stuart,  son  of  the  Reverend  William  Stuart,  was  born  in  King 
George  County,  Virginia,  August  3,  1753,  educated  at  William  and  Mary 
College,  and  studied  medicine  at  Edinburgh  and  Paris.  He  served  in  the 
Virginia  Legislature.  He  later  removed  to  Alexandria,  where  he  practiced 
his  profession  of  medicine  with  great  success.  He  was  a  Federalist  and  a 
strong  friend  of  Washington.  He  married  Eleanor  Calvert  Custis,  the 
widow  of  John  Parke  Custis,  son  of  Martha  Washington  by  her  first  mar- 
riage. He  was  father  of  Charles  Calvert  Stuart,  of  Chantilly,  Fairfax 
County,  Virginia. 

3  Andrew  Ellicott,  an  American  civil  engineer,  was  born  in  Bucks 

29 


Washington* s  Southern  Tour 

Charles  L'Enfant 1  to  prepare  a  plan  of  the  city.  By  the 
middle  of  March  both  were  well  under  way  in  their  work 
—  Ellicott  to  make  a  survey  and  map,  L'Enfant  to  make 
"drawings  of  the  particular  grounds  most  likely  to  be 
offered  for  the  site  of  the  federal  town  and  buildings." 
Writing  to  his  agents  for  negotiating  with  the  somewhat 
recalcitrant  property-holders,  Washington  shrewdly  sug- 
gests that  the  spectacle  of  L'Enfant  making  a  survey 
solely  of  the  lands  on  the  Eastern  Branch  might  cause  the 
property-holders  to  prove  more  amenable.  This  was  the 
situation  just  prior  to  Washington's  arrival  at  George 
Town.  The  President's  diary  for  the  next  three  days  is  full 
and  instructive: 
Monday,  i%th. 

Left  Bladensburgh  at  half  after  six,  &  breakfasted  at 
George  Town  about  8;  where,  having  appointed  the  Corn- 
County,  Pennsylvania,  in  1754.  In  1789  he  was  appointed  by  Washington 
to  survey  the  lands  in  western  Pennsylvania  and  New  York,  near  Lake 
Erie,  and  in  the  same  year  made  the  first  accurate  measurements  of 
Niagara  Falls  and  River.  In  1790  he  was  engaged  in  surveying  and  laying 
out  the  new  city  of  Washington,  and  in  1792  was  appointed  Surveyor-Gen- 
eral of  the  United  States.  From  1 801  to  1 808  he  was  secretary  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania State  Land  Office,  and  from  1812  until  his  death  held  the  chair  of 
mathematics  at  West  Point  Military  Academy.  He  published  a  Journal 'in 
1803.  He  died  at  West  Point,  New  York,  August  28,  1820. 

1  Pierre  Charles  L'Enfant,  born  in  1755,  a  French  officer  who  came  to 
America  with  Lafayette  in  1777  and  joined  the  American  Army.  His  skill 
as  a  designer  of  fortifications  attracted  the  attention  of  Washington,  who 
made  him  chief  of  engineers  with  brevet  of  major  of  engineers.  In  1791  he 
planned  the  city  of  Washington  under  the  direction  of  George  Washington 
and  with  aid  in  the  way  of  plans  of  foreign  cities  from  Thomas  Jefferson. 
The  commissioners  in  general  charge  of  the  work  advertised  a  sale  of  lots  for 
October,  1791,  and  requested  L'Enfant  to  furnish  his  plan  to  be  engraved 
and  published.  This  he  refused  to  do,  and  for  this  insubordination  Wash- 
ington ordered  his  dismissal  March  1,  1792.  The  execution  of  his  plan  for 
Washington  was  continued  by  his  assistant,  Andrew  Ellicott.  L'Enfant 
died  in  Prince  George's  County,  Maryland,  June  4,  1825. 

30 


Philadelphia  to  Mount  Vernon 

missioners  under  the  Residence  Law  to  meet  me,  I  found  Mr. 
Johnson  one  of  them  (&  who  is  Chief  Justice  of  the  State)  in 
waiting  —  &  soon  after  came  in  David  Stuart,  &  Danl.  Car- 
roll Esqrs.  the  other  two.  —  A  few  miles  out  of  Town  I  was 
met  by  the  principal  Citizens  of  the  place  and  escorted  in  by 
them;  and  dined  at  Suter's  tavern  (where  I  also  lodged)  at  a 
public  dinner  given  by  the  Mayor  &  Corporation  —  previous 
to  which  I  examined  the  Surveys  of  Mr.  Ellicot  who  had  been 
sent  on  to  lay  out  the  district  of  ten  miles  square  for  the 
federal  seat;  and  also  the  works  of  Majr.  L'Enfant  who  had 
been  engaged  to  examine  &  make  a  draught  of  the  grds.  in 
the  vicinity  of  George  Town  and  Carrollsburg  on  the  East- 
ern branch  making  arrangements  for  examining  the  ground 
myself  tomorrow  with  the  Commissioners. 

Tuesday,  igth. 

In  a  thick  mist,  and  under  strong  appearance  of  a  settled 
rain  (which  however  did  not  happen)  I  set  out  about  7 
o'clock,  for  the  purpose  above  mentioned  —  but  from  the 
unfavorableness  of  the  day,  I  derived  no  great  satisfaction 
from  the  review. 

Finding  the  interests  of  the  Landholders  about  George 
town  and  those  about  Carrollsburgh  much  at  varience  and 
that  their  fears  and  jealousies  of  each  were  counteracting  the 
public  purposes  &  might  prove  injurious  to  its  best  interests 
whilst  if  properly  managed  they  might  be  made  to  subserve 
it  —  I  requested  them  to  meet  me  at  six  o'clock  this  after- 
noon at  my  lodgings,  which  they  accordingly  did. 

To  this  meeting  I  represented  that  the  contention  in  which 
they  seemed  engaged,  did  not  in  my  opinion  comport  either 
with  the  public  interest  or  that  of  their  own;  —  that  while 
each  party  was  aiming  to  obtain  the  public  buildings,  they 
might  by  placing  the  matter  on  a  contracted  scale,  defeat  the 
measure  altogether;  not  only  by  procrastination  but  for  want 
of  the  means  necessary  to  effect  the  work;  —  That  niether 
the  offer  from  George-town  or  Carrollsburgh,  seperately,  was 
adequate  to  the  end  of  insuring  the  object.  —  That  both  to- 
gether did  not  comprehend  more  ground  nor  would  afford 

31 


Washington* s  Southern  Tour 

greater  means  than  was  required  for  the  federal  City;  —  and 
that,  instead  of  contending  which  of  the  two  should  have  it 
they  had  better,  by  combining  more  offers  make  a  common 
cause  of  it,  and  thereby  secure  it  to  the  district  —  other  argu- 
ments were  used  to  show  the  danger  which  might  result  from 
delay  and  the  good  effects  that  might  proceed  from  a  Union. 
Dined  at  Col0,  Forrest's  today  with  the  Commissioners  & 
others. 

Wednesday,  30M. 

The  parties  to  whom  I  addressed  myself  yesterday  evening, 
having  taken  the  matter  into  consideration  saw  the  propriety 
of  my  observations;  and  that  whilst  they  were  contending  for 
the  shadow  they  might  loose  the  substance;  and  therefore 
mutually  agreed  and  entered  into  articles  to  surrender  for 
public  purposes,  one  half  of  the  land  they  severally  possessed 
within  bounds  which  were  designated  as  necessary  for  the 
City  to  stand  with  some  other  stipulations,  which  were  in- 
serted in  the  instrument  which  they  respectively  subscribed. 

This  business  being  thus  happily  finished  &  some  direc- 
tions given  to  the  Commissioners,  the  Surveyor  and  Engineer 
with  respect  to  the  mode  of  laying  out  the  district  —  Survey- 
ing the  grounds  for  the  City  &  forming  them  into  lots  —  I  left 
Georgetown  —  dined  in  Alexandria  &  reached  Mount  Vernon 
in  the  evening.1 

1  On  the  day  of  the  President's  arrival  at  Mount  Vernon  was  published 
the  following  proclamation: 

By  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

A  Proclamation 

Whereas,  by  a  proclamation  bearing  date  the  24th  day  of  January  of  this 
present  year,  and  in  pursuance  of  certain  acts  of  the  States  of  Maryland 
and  Virginia,  and  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  therein  mentioned, 
certain  lines  of  experiment  were  directed  to  be  run  in  the  neighborhood  of 
George  Town,  in  Maryland,  for  the  purpose  of  determining  the  location 
of  a  part  of  the  territory  of  ten  miles  square  for  the  permanent  seat  of  the 
government  of  the  United  States  and  a  certain  part  was  directed  to  be 
located  within  the  said  lines  of  experiment,  on  both  sides  of  the  Potomac, 
and  above  the  limit  of  the  Eastern  Branch  prescribed  by  the  said  act  of 
Congress 

32 


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Philadelphia  to  Mount  Vernon 

On  March  24,  1791,  Colonel  Henry  Lee,1  the  famous 

And  Congress  by  an  amendatory  act,  passed  on  the  3d  day  of  this  present 
month  of  March,  have  given  further  authority  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States  "to  make  any  part  of  the  territory  below  the  said  limit,  and 
above  the  mouth  of  Hunting  Creek,  a  part  of  the  said  district  so  as  to 
include  a  convenient  part  of  the  Eastern  Branch,  and  of  the  lands  lying  on 
the  lower  side  thereof  and  also  the  town  of  Alexandria." 

Now  therefore,  for  the  purpose  of  amending  and  completing  the  location 
of  the  whole  of  the  said  territory  of  ten  miles  square,  in  conformity  with 
the  amendatory  act  of  Congress,  I  do  hereby  declare  and  make  known  that 
the  whole  of  the  said  territory  shall  be  located  and  included  within  the 
four  line  following  that  is  to  say, 

Beginning  at  Jones  Point,  being  the  Cape  of  Hunting  Creek  in  Virginia, 
and  at  an  angle  in  the  outset,  of  forty-five  degrees  west  of  the  north  and 
running  in  a  direction  ten  miles  for  the  first  line;  then  beginning  again 
at  the  same  Jones-Point  and  running  another  direct  line,  at  a  right 
angle  with  the  first,  across  the  Potomac,  ten  miles  for  the  second  line; 
then,  from  the  terminations  of  the  said  first  and  second  lines,  running  two 
other  direct  lines,  of  ten  miles  each,  the  one  crossing  the  Eastern  Branch 
aforesaid  and  the  other  the  Potomac  and  meeting  each  other  in  a  point. 

And  I  do  accordingly  direct  the  Commissioners,  named  under  the 
authority  of  the  said  first-mentioned  act  of  Congress,  to  proceed  forthwith 
to  have  the  said  four  lines  run,  and  by  the  proper  metes  and  bounds  defined 
and  limited,  and  thereof  to  make  due  report  under  their  hands  and  seals; 
and  the  territory  to  be  located,  defined  and  limited,  shall  be  the  whole 
territory  accepted  by  the  said  acts  of  Congress  as  the  district  for  the  per- 
manent seat  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 

In  Testimony  whereof  I  have  caused  the  Seal  of  the  United  States  to 
be  affixed  to  these  presents,  and  signed  the  same  with  my  hand.  Done 
at  George  town  aforesaid,  the  30th  day  of  March  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  1 791,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  the  fifteenth. 

George  Washington. 
By  the  President 

Thomas  Jefferson. 

1  Henry  Lee,  born  in  Leesylvania,  Prince  William  County,  Virginia, 
January  29,  1756.  Pursued  classical  studies  and  was  graduated  from 
Princeton  in  1774.  On  motion  of  Patrick  Henry,  he  was  commissioned 
captain  of  a  company  of  Virginia  dragoons,  June  18,  1776.  Joined  Wash- 
ington's army  in  Pennsylvania,  September,  1777.  By  a  special  act  of  Con- 
gress, April  7, 1778,  in  recognition  of  his  brave  and  distinguished  services, 
was  promoted  to  a  major  commandant  and  authorized  to  augment  his 
corps  by  the  enlistment  of  two  troops  of  horse;  received  a  gold  medal  and 
the  thanks  of  Congress  "for  remarkable  prudence,  address,  and  bravery" 
in  the  affair  at  Paulus  Hook.  By  act  of  October  21,  1780,  his  battalion 
was  designated  "Lee's  partisan  corps";  which  came  to  be  known  as  "Lee's 

33 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

"  Light  Horse  Harry  "  of  the  Revolution  and  son  of  Wash- 
ington's first  love — the  "Lowland  Beauty,"of  whom  he  was 
enamoured  when  only  sixteen  years  of  age — wrote  Wash- 
ington the  following  affectionate  letter  from  Alexandria : 

My  dear  General 

Permit  me  to  tell  you  that  I  have  waited  to  the  last  mo- 
ment in  my  power  in  the  fond  hope  of  seeing  you. 

My  necessitys  force  me  away  this  day,  or  the  satisfaction  I 
covet,  should  not  be  lost.  Deprived  of  what  is  so  grateful  to 
my  feelings,  I  must  use  this  mode  of  manifesting  my  happi- 
ness on  your  second  return  to  our  native  state,  on  the  con- 
firmed health  you  enjoy,  and  on  the  lasting  affection  of  your 
fellow  citizens. 

Let  me  hope  you  will  not  forget  the  pestilential  effects  of 
the  southern  sun  in  the  hot  season  and  that  the  month  of 
May  will  not  pass,  before  you  revisit  the  potomac.    I  wish 
you  an  agreable  journey  &  safe  return,  &  beg  your  accept- 
ance of  my  most  affectionate  &  respectful  regards. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be 
My  dear  General 
Your  most  devoted  h:  servt. 

Henry  Lee 

legion"  and  its  young  commander  as  "Light  Horse  Harry."  He  was  pro- 
moted to  lieutenant-colonel,  November  6,  1780;  and  served  until  the  end 
of  the  war.  On  July  19,  1798,  was  commissioned  major-general,  United 
States  Army ;  and  was  honorably  discharged  June  15,1 800.  Delegate  in  the 
Continental  Congress,  1785-1788;  and  supported  Madison  and  Marshall  in 
the  Virginia  Convention  of  1788,  winning  distinction  for  his  eloquence. 
Member  of  the  Virginia  Legislature,  1789-91;  and  governor  of  Virginia, 
1792-95.  Commanded  the  Virginia  forces  against  the  whiskey  insurgents. 
Elected  to  the  Sixth  Congress  as  a  Federalist  (March  4,  1799,  to  March  3, 
1801).  At  the  request  of  Congress  he  delivered  a  eulogy  upon  Washington 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  which  he  uttered  the  famous  characterization: 
"first  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen." 
Injured  in  a  street  riot  in  Baltimore  in  181 2,  receiving  injuries  from  which 
he  never  recovered.  By  his  marriage,  during  the  Revolution,  to  Matilda, 
daughter  of  Philip  Ludwell  Lee,  he  came  into  possession  of  Stratford 
House,  where  he  spent  the  latter  part  of  his  life.  Died  in  Cumberland 
Island,  Georgia,  March  25,  18 18. 

34 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  FIRST  STAGE 

Virginia:  Fredericksburg,  Richmond,  Petersburg 

WASHINGTON  reached  home  on  the  30th  of  March 
—  gladly  greeted  by  family  and  retainers.  The 
welcome  relaxation  from  cares  of  State  had  an  added 
balm  —  for  when  he  started  forth  again,  he  was  not  to  re- 
turn to  the  national  capital,  but  to  make  a  triumphal  tour 
through  the  southern  portion  of  the  vast  domain  over 
which  he  presided.  With  the  shrewd  eye  of  the  skilled 
agriculturist,  Washington  inspected  his  plantation  each 
day,  made  pertinent  inquiries,  carefully  investigated  the 
costs  of  everything,  and  gave  precise  directions  regarding 
every  detail  of  management.  At  this  time,  he  had  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  "hands"  on  the  Mount  Vernon  es- 
tate, besides  house  servants;  and  De  Warville,  describing 
his  estate  in  the  same  year,  speaks  of  his  having  three 
hundred  negroes.  In  this  congenial  task  —  for  Washing- 
ton loved  no  role  quite  so  well  as  that  of  the  prosperous 
country  gentleman  —  he  spent  a  full  week  at  Mount 
Vernon.1 

1  The  following  description  of  Mount  Vernon  at  this  time  appeared  in 
the  General  Advertiser  and  Political,  Commercial  and  Literary  Journal  of 
Philadelphia,  April  20,  1791: 

"Mount  Vernon,  the  celebrated  seat  of  general  Washington,  is  pleas- 
antly situated  on  the  Virginia  bank  of  the  Potowmack,  where  it  is  nearly 
two  miles  wide,  and  is  about  280  miles  from  the  sea.  It  is  9  miles  from 
Alexandria,  and  4  above  the  beautiful  seat  of  the  late  col.  Fairfax,  called 
Belleview.  The  area  of  the  mount  is  200  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  river, 
and  after  furnishing  a  lawn  of  five  acres  in  front,  and  about  the  same  in 

35 


Washington* s  Southern  Tour 

Perhaps  he  did  not  wholly  regret,  as  he  states  in  his 

diary  (March  31),  that  he 

Was  obliged  also,  consequence  of  Col0-  Henry  Lee's  declin- 
ing to  accept  the  command  of  one  of  the  Regiments  of  Levies 
and  the  request  of  the  Secretary  at  War  to  appoint  those 
officers  which  had  been  left  to  Col°  Lee  to  do  for  a  Battalion 
to  be  raised  in  Virginia  East  of  the  Alligany  Mountains  to 
delay  my  journey  on  this  account  —  and  after  all,  to  commit 
the  business  as  will  appear  by  the  letters  &  for  the  reasons 
there  mentioned  to  Col°-  Darke's  management.1 

rear  of  the  buildings,  falls  off  abruptly  on  those  two  quarters.  On  the  north 
end  it  subsides  gradually  into  extensive  pasture  grounds;  while  on  the 
south  it  slopes  more  steeply,  in  a  shorter  distance,  and  terminates  with  the 
coach  house,  stables,  vineyards  and  nurseries.  On  either  wing  is  a  thick 
grove  of  different  flowering  forest  trees.  Parallel  with  them,  on  the  land 
side,  are  two  spacious  gardens,  into  which  one  is  led  by  two  serpentine 
gravel  walks,  planted  with  weeping  willows  and  shady  shrubs.  The  man- 
sion house  itself  (though  much  embellished  by,  yet  not  perfectly  satisfac- 
tory to  the  chaste  taste  of  the  present  possessor)  appears  venerable  and  con- 
venient. The  superb  banqueting  room  has  been  finished  since  he  returned 
from  the  army.  A  lofty  portico,  96  feet  in  length,  supported  by  eight 
pillars,  has  a  pleasing  effect  when  viewed  from  the  water;  and  the  tout  en- 
semble (the  whole  assemblage)  of  the  green  house,  school  house,  offices  and 
servants  halls,  when  seen  from  the  land  side,  bears  a  resemblance  to  a 
rural  village,  especially  as  the  lands  in  that  side  are  laid  out  somewhat  in 
the  form  of  English  gardens,  in  meadows  and  grass  grounds,  ornamented 
with  little  copses,  circular  clumps  and  single  trees.  A  small  Park  on  the 
margin  of  the  river,  where  the  English  fallow  deer,  and  the  American  wild 
deer,  are  seen  through  the  thickets,  alternately  with  the  vessels  as  they  are 
sailing  along,  add  a  romantic  picturesque  appearance  to  the  whole  scen- 
ery. On  the  opposite  side  of  a  small  creek  to  the  northward  an  extensive 
plain,  exhibiting  cornfields  and  cattle  grazing,  affords  in  summer  a  luxuri- 
ant landscape  to  the  eye;  while  the  blended  verdure  of  woodlands  and 
cultivated  declivities  on  the  Maryland  shore,  variegates  the  prospect  in  a 
charming  manner.  Such  are  the  philosophic  shades  to  which  the  late  com- 
mander in  the  American  armies  retired  from  the  tumultuous  scenes  of  a 
busy  world." 

1  Colonel  Darke  was  an  active  officer  in  the  Ohio  country,  in  the  Indian 
wars  in  that  region  from  1792  to  1794;  and  Darke  County  was  named  in 
his  honor.  He  was  with  the  Virginians  at  Braddock's  defeat;  was  in  the 
war  for  independence;  was  a  member  of  the  Virginia  Convention  in  1788; 
was  with  St.  Clair  in  his  unfortunate  campaign  in  1791 ;  and  died  in  1801. 
(B.   J.   L.)   Cf.   Washington's  Letter  to  Colonel   John    Darke,  written 

36 


TWO  VIEWS  OF  MOUNT  VERNON  AS  IT  IS  TO-DAY 


Virginia 


Although  there  were  no  telegraphs,  telephones,  or  wire- 
less stations  in  those  days,  it  was  just  as  important  as  it  is 
to-day  for  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  to  have  exact 
knowledge  of  the  movements  and  the  whereabouts  of  the 
President.  The  letter  marked:  "To  the  Secretaries  of  the 
Departments  of  State,  Treasury,  and  War,"  Mount  Ver- 
non, April  4,  1 79 1,  displays  the  customary  prudence  and 
foresight  of  this  man  of  glorified  common  sense : 

As  the  public  service  may  require,  that  communications 
should  be  made  to  me  during  my  absence  from  the  seat  of 
government  by  the  most  direct  conveyances,  and  as,  in  the 
event  of  any  very  extraordinary  occurrence,  it  will  be  neces- 
sary to  know  at  what  time  I  may  be  found  in  any  particular 
place,  I  have  to  inform  you  that,  unless  the  progress  of  my 
journey  to  Savannah  is  retarded  by  unforeseen  interruptions, 
it  will  be  regulated,  including  days  of  halt,  in  the  following 
manner.  I  shall  be  on  the  8th  of  April  at  Fredericksburg,  the 
nth  at  Richmond,  the  14th  at  Petersburg,  the  16th  at  Hali- 
fax, the  1 8  th  at  Tarborough,  the  20th  at  Newbern,  the  24th 
at  Wilmington,  the  29th  at  Georgetown,  South  Carolina;  on 
the  2d  of  May  at  Charleston,  halting  there  five  days;  on  the 
nth  at  Savannah,  halting  there  two  days.  Thence,  leaving 
the  line  of  the  mail,  I  shall  proceed  to  Augusta;  and,  accord- 
ing to  the  information  which  I  may  receive  there,  my  return 
by  an  upper  road  will  be  regulated. 

The  route  of  my  return  is  at  present  uncertain,  but  in  all 
probability  it  will  be  through  Columbia,  Camden,  Charlotte, 
Salisbury,  Salem,  Guilford,  Hillsborough,  Harrisburg,  Wil- 
liamsburg to  Taylor's  Ferry  on  the  Roanoke,  and  thence  to 
Fredericksburg  by  the  nearest  and  best  road. 

After  thus  explaining  to  you,  as  far  as  I  am  able  at  present, 
the  direction  and  probable  progress  of  my  journey,  I  have 

from  Mount  Vernon  on  April  4th,  in  which  he  gives  a  summary  of  the 
forces  to  be  employed  in  the  projected  expedition  against  "certain  tribes 
of  western  Indians"  under  the  command  of  General  St.  Clair,  and  requests 
Colonel  Darke  to  superintend  the  engaging  of  recruits. 

37 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

to  express  my  wish,  if  any  serious  and  important  cares  (of 
which  the  probability  is  but  too  strong)  should  arise  dur- 
ing my  absence,  that  the  Secretaries  of  the  Departments  of 
State,  Treasury,  and  War,  may  hold  consultations  thereon, 
to  determine  whether  they  are  of  such  a  nature  as  to  demand 
my  personal  attendance  at  the  seat  of  government;  and, 
should  they  be  so  considered,  I  will  return  immediately  from 
any  place  at  which  the  information  may  reach  me.  Or  should 
they  determine,  that  measures,  relevant  to  the  case,  may  be 
legally  and  properly  pursued  without  the  immediate  agency 
of  the  President,  I  will  approve  and  ratify  the  measures, 
which  may  be  conformed  to  such  determination. 

Presuming  that  the  Vice-President  will  have  left  the  seat 
of  government  for  Boston,  I  have  not  requested  his  opinion 
to  be  taken  on  the  supposed  emergency;  should  it  be  other- 
wise, I  wish  him  also  to  be  consulted. 

The  deep  personal  affection  felt  for  Washington  through- 
out the  country  found  expression  in  the  public  prints.  The 
sensibility  of  our  ancestors  is  admirably  illustrated  in 
what  passes  for  a  news  item:  "The  President  of  the  United 
States  set  out  from  Philadelphia,  on  a  tour,  through  the 
Southern  States,  on  the  21st.  ult.  He  was  accompanied  by 
a  number  of  respectable  characters;  but  best  of  all,  he  is 
accompanied  by  the  prayers  and  wishes  of  the  people  over 
whom  he  presides;  who  will  not  cease  to  supplicate  the 
Throne  of  Grace,  that  his  health  may  be  preserved;  and 
that  in  that,  he  may  enjoy  every  earthly  felicity!" 

Before  starting  off  from  Mount  Vernon,  Washington 
received  a  letter  from  Jefferson  (Philadelphia,  March 
27th),  expressing  concern  for  his  safety  in  travelling.  "I 
shall  be  happy  to  hear  that  no  accident  has  happened  to 
you  on  the  bad  roads  you  have  passed,  and  that  you  are 

38 


Virginia 


both  prepared  for  those  to  come  by  lowering  the  hang  of 
your  carriage,  and  exchanging  the  coachman  for  two  postil- 
ions, circumstances  which  I  confess  to  you  appeared  to  me 
essential  for  your  safety,  for  which  no  one  on  earth  more 
sincerely  prays,  both  from  public  and  private  regard,  than 
he  who  has  the  honor  to  be  etc."  To  which  solicitous 
inquiry,  Washington  replied:  "No  accident  has  yet  hap- 
pened, either  from  the  high  hanging  of  the  carriage,  or  the 
mode  of  driving.  The  latter  I  must  continue,  as  my  pos- 
tilion is  still  too  much  indisposed  to  ride  the  journey."  Sin- 
gularly enough,  Jefferson's  warning  was  prophetic ;  for  on 
the  very  day  of  Washington's  departure  from  Mount 
Vernon,  with  "horses  apparently  much  refreshed  and  in 
good  spirits,"  an  accident  of  an  extraordinary  nature 
occurred.  Had  it  eventuated  disastrously,  it  might  have 
delayed,  if  not  wholly  prevented,  the  tour  of  the  Southern 
States.  Washington  thus  relates  the  singular  occurrence 
in  his  diary: 

In  attempting  to  cross  the  ferry  at  Colchester  with  the 
four  Horses  hitched  to  the  Chariot  by  the  neglect  of  the 
person  who  stood  before  them,  one  of  the  leaders  got  over- 
board when  the  boat  was  in  swimming  water  and  50  yards 
from  the  shore  —  with  much  difficulty  he  escaped  drowning 
before  he  could  be  disingaged  —  his  struggling  frightened  the 
others  in  such  a  manner  that  one  after  another  and  in  quick 
succession  they  all  got  overboard  harnessed  &  fastened  as 
they  were  and  with  the  utmost  difficulty  they  were  saved  & 
the  Carriage  escaped  been  dragged  after  them,  as  the  whole 
of  it  happened  in  swimming  water,  &  at  a  distance  from 
the  shore  —  Providentially  —  indeed  miraculously  —  by  the 
exertions  of  people  who  went  off  in  Boats  &  jumped  into  the 
River  as  soon  as  the  Batteau  was  forced  into  wading  water — ■ 

39 


PVashingtorfs  Southern  Tour 

no  damage  was  sustained  by  the  horses,  Carriage  or  Har- 
ness. 

After  this  startling  accident  —  an  apparently  untoward 
beginning  of  his  tour  —  Washington  proceeded  to  Dum- 
fries, where  he  dined,  apparently  without  demonstration 
on  the  part  of  the  populace;  and  after  dinner  he  visited  and 
drank  tea  with  his  niece  Mrs.  Thomas  Lee.1  This  restful 
visit  was  but  the  interlude  to  the  long  succession  of  recep- 
tions, greetings,  dinners,  and  balls  which  began  on  the 
morrow  and  lasted  uninterruptedly  for  well-nigh  two 
months.  There  was  incomparable  fitness  in  the  real  inau- 
guration of  his  tour  at  Fredericksburg  on  April  8th.  With 
that  simplicity  and  selflessness  which  marked  the  man 
Washington,  he  gave  no  advance  notice  of  his  prospective 
visit  to  his  boyhood  home.  Arising  at  six  o'clock,  he  set  off 
at  once  from  Dumfries  and  breakfasted  en  route  at  Stafford 
Court  House,  where  his  coach  was  readily  recognized  and 
the  people  left  their  daily  tasks  to  pay  their  respects  to  the 
revered  guest.  Not  being  apprized  of  his  approach,  the 
citizens  were  "disappointed  in  the  opportunities  of  evinc- 
ing their  respect  to  this  illustrious  character,  by  meeting 
him  previous  to  his  arrival."   No  sooner  had  his  chariot 

i  Thomas  Lee,  of  "Parke  Gate,"  near  Dumfries,  Virginia,  was  the  eldest 
son  of  Richard  Henry  Lee  and  Anne  Aylett,  his  first  wife.  He  was  born  at 
"Chantilly,"  his  father's  home,  on  October  20,  1758,  and  died  of  consump- 
tion in  1805  at  "Belmont,"  the  home  of  his  brother,  Ludwell  Lee,  near 
Leesburg,  Virginia.  Thomas  Lee  was  twice  married,  first  about  October  1 5, 
1788,  to  Mildred,  daughter  of  John  Augustine  and  Hannah  (Bushrod) 
Washington,  his  wife.  John  Augustine  was  a  younger  brother  of  President 
George  Washington.  Mildred  was  born  at  "Bushfield,"  the  home  of  her 
parents  in  Westmoreland  County,  about  1760.  Thomas  Lee's  will,  1805, 
named  his  wife  Eliza  Ashton  Lee  and  daughter  Elinor  Lee. 

40 


FIELDING    LEWIS 


Virginia 


and  entourage  swept  through  the  quiet  village  overlooking 
the  placid  river  than  the  place  was  all  agog  with  the  news: 
"The  President  is  here!  He  arrived  at  one  o'clock  and  is 
staying  at  the  home  of  his  sister,  Elizabeth,  Mrs.  Fielding 
Lewis."  1  How  charged  with  memories,  grave  and  gay, 
must  have  been  those  hours  he  spent  this  day  and  the  next 
in  company  with  his  sister  Bettie,  as  he  called  her,  at 
lovely  "Kenmore!"  Almost  in  sight  across  the  river  was 
Pine  Grove,  on  the  Ferry  Farm  where  Washington  as  a  lad 
played  with  his  little  neighbor,  Jane  Strother,  one  of  his 
early  sweethearts.  Here  grew  that  apochryphal  cherry- 
tree  which  fell  beneath  the  mischievous  hatchet ;  and  here, 
too,  if  tradition  doth  not  lie,  he  threw  the  Spanish  dollar 
across  the  river.  A  quizzical  smile  must  have  flitted  across 
that  grave  countenance  now  as  he  visited  the  "Rising  Sun 
Tavern,"  built  and  owned  by  his  brother  Charles,  where  he 
had  lost  at  cards  "as  usual,"  as  he  somewhere  records  in 
his  diary,  to  those  Fredericksburg  fellows  who  were  "too 
smart  for  him."  Fredericksburg  had  seen  him  often 
through  the  quiet  as  well  as  the  eventful  years  of  his 

1  His  sister  Elizabeth  married  Colonel  Fielding  Lewis.  Their  son, 
Lawrence  Lewis,  was  Washington's  favorite  nephew.  He  married  Nelly 
Custis,  Mrs.  Washington's  granddaughter,  and  resided  with  her  at  Mount 
Vernon  at  the  time  of  Washington's  death.    (B.  J.  L.) 

Fielding  Lewis,  second  son  of  John  Lewis  and  Frances  Fielding,  born 
1725,  married:  first  (1746),  Catherine,  daughter  of  John  Washington  and 
Catherine  Whiting  and  first  cousin  of  General  George  Washington;  and 
second  (1750),  Bettie  Washington,  only  sister  of  General  George  Washing- 
ton. He  was  not  in  field  service  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  being  over 
the  military  age,  but  was  engaged  during  the  struggle  in  manufacturing 
arms  for  the  patriot  army.  His  home  was  "  Kenmore,"  Fredericksburg, 
Virginia.  He  died  in  1781.  From  Genealogies  of  Lewis  and  Kindred  Fam- 
ilies by  J.  N.  McAllister  and  L.  B.  Toody.  Compare  also  Historic  Periods  of 
Fredericksburg,  1608-1861,  by  Mrs.  Vivian  Minor  Fleming. 

41 


Washington'' 's  Southern  Tour 

career;  here  he  had  foregathered  with  the  young  bloods 
of  the  town ;  here  he  had  reviewed  the  independent  com- 
panies; and  here  he  had  often  attended  cotillions  and 
country  dances,  at  which  he  invariably  paid  chief  court  to 
the  most  beautiful  and  attractive  ladies  of  those  in  attend- 
ance. Here  in  November,  1789,  his  mother  accompanied 
him  to  a  reception  held  in  his  honor;  and  here  at  the  close 
of  the  Revolution  was  given  the  famous  Peace  Ball  at 
which  Mary,  his  mother,  "occupied  a  slightly  elevated  po- 
sition from  which  she  could  overlook  the  floor  and  see  the 
dances."  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  Mayor  of  the  Cor- 
poration, William  McWilliams,  delivered  the  address  of 
welcome  in  which  were  spoken  with  unaffected  emotion 
these  words:  "Although  you  have  laid  aside  your  official 
character,  we  cannot  omit  this  first  opportunity  you  have 
given  us  of  presenting,  with  unfeigned  hearts,  our  sincere 
congratulations  on  your  returning  in  safety  from  the  noisy 
clashing  of  arms  to  the  walks  of  domestic  ease.  And  it 
affords  us  great  joy  to  see  you  once  more  at  a  place  that 
claims  the  honor  of  your  growing  infancy,  the  seat  of  your 
venerable  and  amiable  parent  and  worthy  relatives." 

As  he  passed  down  the  main  street  of  the  town,  his  eyes 
turned  to  the  Masonic  Lodge,  No.  4,  where  on  November 
4,  1752,  he  became  a  member,  and  on  August  4,  1753,  was 
"raised  a  Master  Mason."  Upon  the  minutes  of  this  same 
lodge  are  spread  these  sentiments,  recorded  shortly  after 
Washington's  death:  "He  was  early  initiated  in  this 
venerable  Lodge,  in  the  mysteries  of  our  ancient  and 

honorable  profession;  and  held  it  in  the  highest  and  most 

42 


Virginia 


just  veneration.  ...  As  a  man  he  was  frail,  and  it  would  be 
a  compliment  to  which  human  nature  cannot  aspire  to 
suppose  him  free  from  peculiarities  or  exempt  from  error. 
...  In  the  offices  of  private  life  he  was  most  endeared  to 
those  who  were  most  in  his  familiarity  and  intimacy.  . .  . 
He  is  gone  forever  from  our  view,  but  gone  to  the  realms 
of  celestial  bliss,  where  the  shafts  of  malice  and  detraction 
cannot  penetrate,  where  all  sublunary  distinctions  cease, 
and  merit  is  rewarded  by  the  scale  of  unerring  justice." 

Washington  must  have  enjoyed  this  first  day  with  the 
Lewises,  especially  making  and  renewing  acquaintances 
with  the  children  of  his  sister  Bettie,  who  had  thirteen  all 
told.  But  preparations  were  going  rapidly  forward  for  a 
reception  and  public  dinner  at  which  due  honor  was  to  be 
paid  to  the  beloved  and  honored  guest  who  was  regarded 
almost  as  a  native  son  of  Stafford.  "An  elegant  dinner 
was  prepared  at  the  Town  Hall,"  says  a  contemporary 
print;  and  at  two  o'clock  Washington  was  "waited  on  by 
some  of  the  officers  and  principal  inhabitants  of  the  cor- 
poration, conducted  to  the  place  of  entertainment,  received 
by  the  Mayor,  and  introduced  to  those  present."  After 
the  greetings  and  introductions,  marked  by  unusual  hearti- 
ness and  cordiality,  were  over,  William  Harvey,  the  Mayor, 
on  behalf  of  the  Corporation,  then  publicly  delivered  the 
following  "affectionate  congratulatory  address": 

We,  the  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Common  Council  of  the 
corporation  of  Fredericksburg  are  happy  in  tendering  you 
the  sincere  and  unanimous  congratulations  of  the  citizens  on 
your  arrival  in  this  town. 

The  inhabitants  of  Fredericksburg,  Sir,  as  they  can  boast 

43 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

the  first  acquaintance  with  your  virtues,  claim  a  peculiar 
pleasure  in  testifying  to  the  world  your  exalted  merit;  and  in 
joining  with  the  rest  of  America,  to  express  their  entire  appro- 
bation of  your  conduct  thro'  life;  which  has  been  so  produc- 
tive of  blessings  to  the  citizens. 

The  long  and  fatiguing  journey  you  have  undertaken  will 
further  manifest  your  unremitted  attachment  to  that  coun- 
try, whose  obligations  to  you  can  be  better  felt  than  described, 
and  we  trust  will  not  only  influence  the  present  generation 
to  admire  public  and  private  virtues,  from  your  example,  but 
teach  your  successors  how  to  watch  over  the  welfare  of  this 
extensive  union. 

We  have  the  fullest  confidence  in  Divine  Benevolence,  that 
the  Dispenser  of  all  good  will  will  be  graciously  pleased  long 
to  continue  you  in  health,  and  reward  you  here  and  hereafter 
with  blessings  adequate  to  your  merit,  which  he  alone  can 
give. 

In  terms  consonant  with  the  spirit  of  the  address,  the 
President  made  the  following  gracious  reply: 

To  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  and  Common  Council  of  the 

Corporation  of  Fredericksburg, 
Gentlemen, 

At  all  times  flattered  by  the  esteem,  and  grateful  for  the 
good  wishes  of  my  fellow  citizens,  I  am  particularly  so,  when, 
to  my  respect  for  their  public  worth,  is  united  the  endear- 
ments of  private  acquaintance. 

In  this  regard,  I  have  the  pleasure  to  receive  your  con- 
gratulatory address  on  my  arrival  in  Fredericksburg,  and, 
thanking  you  with  sincerity  for  the  sentiments  it  expresses, 
I  desire  to  assure  you  of  the  affectionate  gratitude  which  they 
inspire. 

With  unaffected  enjoyment  in  having  in  their  midst  so 
famous  a  figure  who  was  also  a  friend  and  familiar,  the 
banqueters  proposed  toast  after  toast,  fifteen  in  all,  which 
were  greeted  with  resounding  applause;  last  of  all  the 

44 


Virginia 


President  won  every  heart  by  proposing  the  following 
highly  popular  sentiment:  "The  town  we  are  in,  and 
prosperity  to  its  inhabitants."  It  is  stated  in  a  contem- 
porary print  that  "the  whole  was  conducted  with  the  ut- 
most regularity  and  decorum  and  the  evening  concluded 
with  every  mark  of  festivity  and  cheerfulness." 

In  his  diary  of  the  journey,  Washington  records  on  this  day : 

Was  informed  by  Mr.  Jno.  Lewis,  who  had,  not  long  since 
been  in  Richmond,  that  Mr.  Patrick  Henry  had  avowed  his 
interest  in  the  Yazoo  Company;1  and  made  him  a  tender  of 
admission  into  it,  whch,  he  declined  —  but  asking,  if  the 
Company  did  not  expect  the  Settlement  of  the  lands  would 
be  disagreeable  to  the  Indians  was  answered  by  Mr.  Henry 
that  the  Co.  intended  to  apply  to  Congress  for  protection  — 
which,  if  not  granted  they  would  have  recourse  to  their  own 
means  to  protect  the  settlement  —  That  General  Scott  had  a 
certain  quantity  of  land  (I  think  40,000  acres  in  the  Company's 
grant  &  was  to  have  the  command  of  the  force  which  was  to 
make  the  establishment  —  and  moreover — that  General 
Muhlenburg  had  offered  £1000  for  a  certain  part  of  the  grant 
—  the  quantity  I  do  not  recollect  if  it  was  mentioned  to  me. 

On  the  morning  of  his  departure,  Washington  had  a 
taste  of  the  inconveniences  of  form;  for  despite  the  early 
hour  of  his  departure  —  "about  6  o'clock"  —  he  was 
attended  for  some  miles  out  of  town  by  a  "  large  company 

1  The  first  legislature  of  Georgia,  after  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution, undertook  to  sell  out,  to  three  private  companies,  the  preemption 
right  to  vast  tracts  of  land  west  of  the  Chattahoochee  River,  unmindful  of 
any  rightful  claims  of  the  Indians.  They  were  called  Yazoo  Land  Com- 
panies. They  sold  to  the  South  Carolina  Company  5,000,000  acres,  for 
$566,964;  to  the  Virginia  Yazoo  Company,  7,000,000  acres,  for  $93,742;  and 
to  the  Tennessee  Yazoo  Company,  3,500,000  acres,  for  $46,875.  These 
companies  not  complying  with  the  requirements  of  the  sale,  a  succeeding 
legislature  declared  the  bargain  a  nullity.  Some  of  the  purchasers  con- 
tested the  claims,  and  litigations  arose,  which  became  still  more  com- 
plicated when  the  same  lands  were  sold  to  other  companies.  (B.  J.  L  ) 

45 


Washington' s  Southern  Tour 

of  gentlemen."  The  necessity  for  conversing  with  this 
company  and  maintaining  the  responsibilities  of  his  high 
office  —  perhaps  somewhat  irksome  at  sunrise  —  as  well 
as  the  nuisance  of  choking  clouds  of  dust  raised  by  the 
cavalcade,  thus  gave  him  at  the  very  beginning  of  his  tour 
a  distaste  for  early  morning  escorts.  The  day's  travel  was 
uneventful,  as  is  shown  by  Washington's  own  record: 
"Left  Fredericksburg  about  6  o'clock,  —  myself  Majr 
Jackson  and  one  Servant  breakfasted  at  General  Spots- 
woods  *  —  the  rest  of  my  Servants  continued  on  to  Todd's 
Ordinary  where  they  also  breakfasted.  —  Dined  at  the 
Bowling  Green  —  and  lodged  at  Kenner's  Tavern  14 
miles  farther —  in  all  35  m." 

The  events  of  Monday,  April  1  ith,  are  also  set  out  with 
almost  painful  brevity  in  the  following  bare  recital  of  the 
diary:  "Took  an  early  breakfast  at  Kinner's  —  bated  at 
one  Rawling's  half  way  between  that  &  Richmond,  and 
dined  at  the  latter  about  3  o'clock.  —  On  my  arrival  was 
saluted  by  the  Cannon  of  the  place  —  waited  on  by  the 
Governor 2  and  other  Gentlemen  —  and  saw  the  City 
illuminated  at  night." 

1  Alexander  Spotswood  was  the  oldest  son  of  John  Spotswood,  who  was 
the  oldest  son  of  the  colonial  governor,  Alexander  Spotswood.  The  General 
Spotswood  mentioned  by  Washington  was  commissioned  Major  in  the  2d 
Virginia  Regiment,  August  17,  1775;  Lieutenant-Colonel,  May  7,  1776; 
Colonel,  February  21,  1777;  resigned  October  9,  1777.  He  was  a  Brigadier- 
General  in  the  State  line,  whence  he  derived  his  title.  He  and  Washington 
were  intimate  friends,  and  frequently  corresponded  on  agricultural  matters. 
He  died  December  20,  1818. 

2  Beverley  Randolph,  son  of  Peter  and  Lucy  (Boiling)  Randolph, 
was  born  at  "Chatsworth,"  Henrico  County,  Virginia,  in  1754.  He  was 
graduated  from  William  and  Mary  College,  of  which  he  was  appointed 
a  visitor  in  1784.    An  ardent  patriot,  he  was  a  member  of  the  Virginia 

46 


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Virginia 


The  genuine  interest  attaching  to  the  James  River 
Navigation  Company  makes  memorable  the  tour  of  in- 
spection of  the  Canal  which  Washington  made  on  the  fol- 
lowing day.  A  brief  account  of  the  origin  and  operations 
of  the  Company  may  find  excuse  for  being  in  the  close 
association  of  Washington  with  its  interests. 

As  early  as  October,  1765,  there  was  passed  by  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  Virginia  an  act  looking  to  the  extension 
of  the  navigation  of  the  James  River,  from  Westham  down- 
wards through  the  great  falls,  and  commissioners  were 
designated  to  arrange  for  the  digging  and  opening  of  such 
canals  and  aqueducts  as  might  appear  necessary.  It  was 
not  until  May,  1784,  however,  that  the  General  Assembly 
passed  an  act  making  it  lawful  to  "open  books  in  the  City 
of  Richmond  for  receiving  and  entering  subscriptions  to 
the  amount  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,"  the  said 
subscribers  to  be  known  as  the  "James  River  Company" 
in  case  fifty  thousand  dollars  or  more  should  be  raised.  On 
his  return  from  the  long  journey  through  the  Western 
Country,  Washington  wrote  from  Mount  Vernon  (October 
10,  1784)  to  Governor  Benjamin  Harrison  as  follows: 

I  shall  take  the  liberty  now,  my  dear  sir,  to  suggest  a  matter 
which  would  mark  your  administration  as  an  important  era 
in  the  annals  of  this  country  —  if  it  should  be  recommended 
by  you  and  adopted  by  the  Assembly. 

Assembly  during  the  Revolution.  In  1787  he  was  chosen  President  of  the 
Executive  Council  of  Virginia.  On  December  1,  1788,  he  succeeded  his 
relative,  Edmund  Randolph,  as  Governor  of  Virginia.  He  served  three 
consecutive  terms  of  one  year  each.  His  administration  was  notable  for 
Indian  depredations  and  the  relations  of  Virginia  to  Pennsylvania.  He 
died  at  his  home,  "Green  Creek,"  in  Cumberland  County,  Virginia,  in 
February,  1797. 

47 


TVashijigtorfs  Southern  Tour 

It  has  long  been  my  opinion  that  the  shortest,  easiest  and 
least  expensive  communication  with  the  invaluable  country 
back  of  us,  would  be  by  one  or  both  of  the  rivers  of  this 
State.  A  combination  of  circumstances  makes  the  present 
juncture  more  favorable  for  Virginia,  than  for  any  other 
State  in  the  union,  to  fix  these  matters.  It  is  my  opinion  that 
Commissioners  be  appointed  to  make  an  actual  survey  of  the 
James  River  from  tide-water  to  its  source. 

It  is  well  known  that  when  Washington  went  to  Rich- 
mond to  meet  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette  on  November  15, 
1784,  he  had  conferences  with  certain  members  of  the 
Assembly  on  the  subject  of  opening  the  James  River;  and 
it  has  been  stated l  that  the  chief  object  of  his  visit  was  to 
further  the  projects  outlined  in  his  letter,  above  quoted, 
to  Governor  Harrison.  At  the  session  of  the  Assembly, 
January,  1785,  acts  were  passed  for  clearing  and  improv- 
ing the  navigation  of  the  James  and  Potomac;  and  one 
hundred  shares  of  stock,  of  an  estimated  value  of  twenty 
thousand  dollars,  was  voted  to  Washington,  as  Governor 
Harrison  wrote  him,  "in  commemoration  of  your  assidu- 
ous care  to  promote  your  country's  interests."  2  After 
mature  reflection,  Washington,  who  was  sincerely  touched 
by  this  "noble  proof  of  the  good  opinion,  affection,  and 
disposition  of  my  country,"  wrote  the  following  letter 
to  Governor  Harrison,  which  was  communicated  to  the 
General  Assembly  in  session  in  October,  1785: 

1  Richmond  in  By-Gone  Days:  chapter  "The  James  River  Canal,"  by 
Samuel  Mordecai.    1856. 

2  The  preamble  to  the  act  reads:  "Whereas  it  is  the  desire  of  this  Com- 
monwealth to  embrace  every  suitable  occasion  of  testifying  their  sense  of 
the  unexampled  merits  of  George  Washington,  esquire,  toward  his  coun- 
try."  (Hening's  Statutes,  col.  11.) 

48 


Virginia 


Your  Excellency  having  been  pleased  to  transmit  me  a 
copy  of  an  act  appropriating  to  my  benefit  certain  shares  in 
the  James  River  Company,  I  take  the  liberty  of  returning 
the  same  to  the  general  assembly  with  the  profound  and 
grateful  acknowledgements,  inspired  by  so  signal  a  mark  of 
their  beneflcient  intention  toward  me.  With  these  sentiments 
in  my  bosom  I  need  not  dwell  on  the  anxiety  I  feel  in  being 
obliged  in  this  instance,  to  decline  a  favor  which  is  so  affec- 
tionate in  itself.  When  I  was  first  called  to  the  station  with 
which  I  was  honored  during  the  late  conflict  for  our  liberties, 
I  thought  it  my  duty  to  shut  my  hand  against  every  pecuni- 
ary recompence,  and  I  do  not  consider  myself  at  liberty  to 
depart  from  such  a  course.  Should  it  please  the  general  as- 
sembly to  permit  me  to  turn  the  destination  of  this  fund  to 
objects  of  a  public  nature,  it  will  be  my  object  in  selecting 
these,  to  prove  the  sincerity  of  my  gratitude  for  the  honour 
conferred  on  me.1 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Washington  donated  his  shares  of 
the  James  River  Company  stock  to  Liberty  Hall  Academy, 
the  seed  from  which  sprang  the  flourishing  Washington  and 
Lee  University  of  to-day.  In  1775  the  Hanover  Presby- 
tery in  Virginia  established  near  present  Fairfield,  Rock- 
bridge County,  a  seminary  of  learning  known  as  Mount 
Pleasant  Academy.  The  next  year  this  academy,  often 
spoken  of  as  Augusta  Academy,  was  moved  to  a  site  near 
the  present  stone  Timber  Ridge  Church,  about  seven 
miles  from  Lexington;  and  given  the  new  name,  Liberty 

1  Hening's  Statutes,  vol.  12.  In  a  letter  (Mount  Vernon,  July  30,  1785) 
to  Edmund  Randolph,  acting  President  of  the  James  River  Company, 
Washington  says:  "I  have  therefore  decided  to  hold  the  shares  which  the 
Treasurer  was  directed  to  subscribe  on  my  account  in  trust  for  the  use  and 
benefit  of  the  public.  If  agreeable  to  the  Assembly  I  should  like  to  establish 
a  school  on  the  James  River  for  the  education  and  support  of  the  children  of 
the  poor  —  particularly  for  the  children  of  those  men  who  have  fallen  in 
defence  of  the  rights  and  liberties  of  their  country." 

49 


Washington' s  Southern  Tour 

Hall  Academy.  At  some  time  during  the  year  1780,  the 
operations  of  the  academy  were  wholly  suspended,  and 
were  never  resumed  at  Timber  Ridge.  In  October,  1782, 
the  trustees  had  the  legislature  pass  an  act  incorporating 
the  academy;  and  it  was  newly  located  on  the  edge  of  the 
farm  of  the  Reverend  William  Graham,  the  first  principal, 
near  Lexington.  The  academy  continued  its  functions 
until  1795,  when  a  turn  of  good  fortune  materially  in- 
creased the  prospect  for  the  future.  The  stock  in  the 
James  River  Company,  which  Washington  held  in  trust 
for  endowing  some  seminary  of  learning,  had  remained 
unproductive  for  ten  years.  When  at  last  these  shares 
gave  promise  of  becoming  productive,  Washington  began 
to  consider  donating  them  to  some  worthy  institution.  An 
address  to  Washington  was  prepared  by  friends  and  trus- 
tees of  Liberty  Hall  Academy,  urging  its  claims.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1796,  Washington  officially  communicated  to 
Robert  Brooke,  Governor  of  Virginia,  his  decision  in  favor 
of  Liberty  Hall  Academy.  The  letter  acknowledging  the 
gift  drew  from  Washington  the  following  reply,  addressed 
to  the  "Trustees  of  Washington  Academy,"  the  name 
which  had  been  given  Liberty  Hall  Academy  following 
Washington's  donation: 

Mount  Vernon,  June  17/A,  1798 
Gentlemen,  — 

Unaccountable  as  it  may  seem,  it  is  nevertheless  true,  that 
the  address  with  which  you  were  pleased  to  honor  me,  dated 
the  1 2th  of  April,  never  came  to  my  hands  until  the  14th 
instant. 

To  promote  literature  in  this  rising  empire,  and  to  encour- 
age the  arts,  have  ever  been  amongst  the  warmest  wishes  of 

So 


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Virginia 


my  heart.  And  if  the  donation,  which  the  generosity  of  the 
Legislature  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia  has  enabled  me 
to  bestow  on  Liberty  Hall,  now  by  your  politeness  called 
Washington  Academy,  is  likely  to  prove  a  means  to  accom- 
plish these  ends,  it  will  contribute  to  the  gratification  of  my 
desires. 

Sentiments  like  those  which  have  flowed  from  your  pen 
excite  my  gratitude,  whilst  I  offer  my  best  vows  for  the  pros- 
perity of  the  academy  and  for  the  honor  and  happiness  of 
those  under  whose  auspices  it  is  conducted. 

Geo.  Washington 

It  was  not  until  March,  1802,  that  the  James  River 
Company  stock,  which  had  a  par  value  of  twenty  thou- 
sand dollars,  paid  its  first  dividend:  six  hundred  dol- 
lars.1 

On  October  20,  1785,  the  stockholders  of  the  James 
River  Navigation  Company  met  and  elected  George  Wash- 
ington as  president,  and  John  Harris,  David  Ross,  Wil- 
liam Cabell,  and  Edmund  Randolph  as  directors.  Owing 
to  the  pressure  of  many  other  obligations,  Washington 
declined  the  "active  presidency,"2  and  during  the  term  of 
Washington's  nominal  presidency  the  active  duties  of  the 
office  were  performed  by  other  men,  the  first  of  whom  was 
Edmund  Randolph,  afterward  Attorney-General  of  the 
United  States.  Washington  was  a  stockholder  of  the  com- 
pany for  ten  years,  and  was  always  deeply  interested  in  its 

1  Consult  Washington  and  Lee  Historical  Papers,  No.  I  (1890). 

2  Writing  to  Edmund  Randolph  (Mount  Vernon,  September  16,  1785), 
Washington  says:  "I  feel  very  sensibly  the  honor  and  confidence  which 
has  (sic)  been  reposed  in  me  by  the  James  River  Company;  and  regret  that 
it  will  not  be  in  my  power  to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  office  of  President 
of  the  Board  of  Directors,  with  that  punctuality  and  attention  which  the 
trust  requires." 

51 


Washington* s  Southern  Tour 

welfare.1  It  must  be  recalled  that  both  the  James  River 
Company  and  the  Potomac  Company  were  incorporated 
in  1785,  for  the  purpose  of  improving  the  navigation  of 
the  two  rivers.  Washington  was  selected  as  president  of 
both  companies,  accepted  the  active  presidency  of  the 
Potomac  Company  and  served  in  that  capacity  until  he 
resigned  to  become  President  of  the  United  States.  On 
the  29th  of  September,  1789,  the  members  of  the  leg- 
islature of  Virginia  were  invited  to  take  a  trip  up  the 
canal  and  through  the  locks.  The  canal  was  then  opened 
from  Westham  to  Broad-Rock,  a  short  distance  above 
the  city. 

In  Washington's  diary,  Tuesday,  12th,  1791,  appears  the 
following  entry: 

'  On  October  5,  1795,  on  the  retirement  of  Washington  from  the  presi- 
dency of  the  company,  William  Foushee  was  elected  as  his  successor,  and 
held  the  office  until  181 8.  Foushee  was  succeeded  by  J.  G.  Gamble,  who 
in  turn  was  succeeded  by  W.  C.  Nicholas,  in  1819.  By  the  act  of  1785,  the 
first  James  River  Company  was  required  to  make  the  river  navigable  for 
vessels  drawing  one  foot  of  water  at  least,  from  the  highest  place  practicable 
to  the  great  falls  beginning  at  Westham,  and  thence  to  make  such  canal 
or  canals,  with  sufficient  locks,  as  would  open  navigation  to  tidewater. 
On  February  17,  1829,  the  State  took  over  the  company  as  a  state  "enter- 
prise" by  the  passage  of  an  "Act  for  clearing  and  improving  the  navigation 
of  the  James  River,  and  for  uniting  the  eastern  and  western  waters  by  the 
James  and  Kanawha  rivers."  The  James  River  Company  was  under  the 
control  of  the  State  Board  of  Public  Works  from  1823  until  1835,  when  the 
State  sold  out  its  interest  to  a  new  company,  known  as  the  James  River  and 
Kanawha  Company,  which  proceeded  to  dig  the  canal  from  Richmond  to 
Buchanan,  in  Botetourt  County.  This  company  sold  out  to  the  Richmond 
and  Alleghany  Railroad  in  1880,  and  the  James  River  Division  of  the 
Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Railroad  now  runs  along  the  old  tow-path  of  the  canal. 
(Compare  Richmond  in  By-Gone  Days,  by  Samuel  Mordecai:  chapter, 
"The  James  River  Canal.")  I  am  indebted  for  information  to  Professor 
W.  F.  Dunaway,  State  College,  Pennsylvania,  who  has  published  a  His- 
tory of  the  James  River  and  Kanawha  Company  (in  Columbia  University 
Studies  in  History,  Economics,  and  Public  Law.  Longmans,  Green  &  Co., 
New  York,  1922,  251  pages). 

52 


Virginia 


In  company  with  the  Governor,  —  the  Directors  of  the 
James  River  Navigation  Company  —  the  Manager  &  many 
other  Gentlemen  —  I  viewed  the  Canal,  Sluces,  Locks,  &  other 
works  between  the  City  of  Richmond  &  Westham.  —  These 
together  have  brought  the  navigation  to  within  a  mile  and 
half,  or  mile  and  §  of  the  proposed  Bason;  from  which  the 
Boats  by  means  of  Locks  are  to  communicate  with  the  tide 
water  navigation  below. — The  Canal  is  of  sufficient  depth 
every  where  —  but  in  places  not  brought  to  its  proper  width; 
it  seems  to  be  perfectly  secure  against  Ice,  Freshes  &  drift 
wood  —  The  locks  at  the  head  of  these  works  are  simple  — 
altogether  of  hewn  stone,  except  the  gates  &  cills  —  and 
very  easy  &  convenient  to  work,  —  there  are  two  of  them, 
each  calculated  to  raise  and  lower  6  feet  —  they  cost  accord- 
ing to  the  Manager's,  Mr.  Harris  acct.  about  £3000  but  I 
could  see  nothing  in  them  to  require  such  a  sum  to  erect 
them.  —  The  Sluces  in  the  River,  between  the  locks  and  the 
mouth  of  the  Canal  are  well  graduated  and  easy  of  assent  — 
To  complete  the  Canal  from  the  point  to  which  it  is  now 
opened,  and  the  Locks  at  the  foot  of  them,  Mr.  Harris  thinks 
will  require  3  years. 

During  his  stay  in  Richmond,  it  is  most  probable  that  he 
had  his  quarters  at  the  home  of  Colonel  Edward  Carring- 
ton  l — a  soldier  of  the  Revolution  and  a  friend  for  whose 

1  Edward  Carrington,  son  of  George  and  Anne  (Mayo)  Carrington,  was 
born  in  Goochland  County,  Virginia,  February  11,  1749.  Member  of  the 
County  Committee  in  1775-76;  quartermaster-general  in  the  Revolution, 
having  been  commissioned  lieutenant-colonel  of  artillery  November  30, 
1776.  Second  in  command  to  General  Nathanael  Greene  in  the  Southern 
campaign,  and  was  taken  prisoner  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  Com- 
manded the  artillery  at  Hobkirk's  Hill  and  Yorktown.  He  was  the  brother- 
in-law  of  Chief  Justice  Marshall  and  the  confidential  friend  of  Washington. 
He  was  distinguished  for  personal  prowess,  imposing  appearance,  and  dig- 
nity and  sternness  of  manner.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Continental  Con- 
gress, 1785-86;  mayor  of  Richmond;  marshal  of  the  United  States  Dis- 
trict Court  of  Virginia,  1789-  ;  foreman  of  the  jury  in  the  trial  of 
Aaron  Burr  for  treason  in  1807.  Was  recommended  by  Washington  for 
commander-in-chief  of  the  American  army,  in  the  event  of  a  war  with 
France.  He  died  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  October  28,  18 10. 

53 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

good  judgment  Washington  entertained  genuine  respect. 
Perhaps,  too,  while  on  this  visit  Washington  once  again 
visited  the  "Old  Stone  House,"  originally  built  by  Jacob 
Ege  and  said  to  be  the  first  dwelling  erected  within  the 
city  limits  as  then  laid  out  —  a  house  which  had  harbored 
beneath  its  sheltering  roof  Washington,  Jefferson,  Madi- 
son, and  Monroe.1  And  as  he  passed  that  old  wooden 
building,  the  City  Tavern,  his  mind  may  have  turned 
again,  to  that  ball  of  the  long  ago,  where  "Minuets,  Reels 
and  Congos"  were  danced  in  his  honor  and  for  his  delecta- 
tion. On  the  afternoon  of  Tuesday,  the  12th,  Washington 
received  an  address  from  the  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Com- 
mon Council  of  the  City  of  Richmond  —  a  ceremony 
which  doubtless  took  place  at  the  City  Hall,  although  no 
mention  of  the  place  where  the  ceremony  occurred  is  found 
in  Washington's  diary.  This  address  of  the  Corporation  of 
Richmond  is  interesting  as  an  expression  of  the  veneration 
with  which  Washington  had  come  to  be  regarded  by  the 
great  masses  of  the  people.  However  factions  might  rage 
and  political  frenzy  aim  poison  darts  at  the  leader  of  the 
federation  (without  a  capital  letter!),  the  great  masses  of 
the  people  —  sound  and  wholesome  in  their  judgment  — 
continued  with  increasing  fervor  to  honor  and  to  rever- 
ence Washington  as  the  author  of  their  liberties  and  as 
the  founder  of  a  nation. 

The  address,  which  was  delivered  at  three  o'clock,  is 
as  follows: 

1  See  Ege  Genealogy  in  the  library  at  the  College  of  William  and  Mary, 
Williamsburg,  Virginia. 

54 


EDWARD  CARRINGTON 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UWVERSITY  OF  Si  LINQIS 


Virginia 


To  George  Washington,  Esq.,  President  of  the  United 
States. 

Sir, 

If  in  you  the  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Commonalty  of  Rich- 
mond, beheld  only  the  chief  Magistrate  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  they  would  indeed  feel  all  that  respect  which  is 
due  to  the  ruler  of  a  free  people;  but  when  they  contemplate 
those  virtues  which  have  excited  the  universal  approbation 
of  your  own  country,  and  the  admiration  of  all  mankind,  they 
cannot  approach  you  without  emotions  of  veneration  too  big 
for  utterance,  —  too  pleasing  to  be  suppressed. 

If  the  voice  of  the  people  be  the  trumpet  of  the  Almighty, 
the  universality  of  that  gratitude  which  pervades  every 
bosom  in  America,  will  ever  remain  an  incontestable  proof  of 
the  plaudit  of  Heaven  on  the  fortitude  and  wisdom  which 
secured  to  our  common  country  independence  and  empire, 
and  which  now  leads  her  to  wealth  and  glory. 

We  well  know  that  to  a  mind  like  yours,  fraught  with 
benevolence  and  affection  for  all  mankind,  the  gratitude  and 
love  of  the  nation,  which  you  have  saved  must  be  the  best  and 
most  pleasing  reward;  yet  we  are  aware  that  to  such  a  mind 
nothing  could  be  more  painful  than  that  servility  which  would 
convert  the  sentiment  of  love  into  the  language  of  adulation; 
we  shun  therefore  the  expression  of  the  one,  lest  we  should 
incur  the  imputation  of  the  other;  and  while  we  beg  leave  to 
congratulate  you  on  the  astounding  success  which  has  hereto- 
fore attended  all  your  endeavours  for  promoting  the  public 
welfare,  we  look  forward  with  confidence  and  joy  to  the  con- 
tinuance of  that  administration,  which,  through  the  blessings 
of  the  Supreme  Being,  hath  been  already  productive  of  so 
much  general  happiness  to  the  American  empire;  and  we 
implore  that  Being,  propitiously  to  smile  on  all  your  future 
designs,  to  guard  and  protect  you  in  your  intended  tour,  to 
grant  you  every  earthly  good,  and  that,  when  his  providence 
shall  see  fit  to  summon  you  hence,  you  may  be  wafted  to  the 
regions  of  eternal  happiness,  lamented  by  men  and  welcomed 
by  angels. 

55 


Washington? 's  Southern  Tour 

Even  the  most  confirmed  admirer  of  Washington  would 
wish  that  in  this  instance  the  fervor  and  obvious  sincerity 
of  the  address  might  have  inspired  him  to  at  least  a  warmer 
expression  than  that  embodied  in  the  following  specimen 
of  punctilious  and  lifeless  propriety: 

Gentlemen, 

The  very  distinguished  manner  in  which  you  are  pleased  to 
note  my  public  services,  and  to  express  your  regard  towards 
me,  demands  and  receives  a  grateful  and  affectionate  return. 

If  to  my  agency  in  the  affairs  of  our  common  country  may 
be  ascribed  any  of  the  great  advantages  which  it  now  enjoys, 
I  am  amply  and  most  agreeably  rewarded  in  contemplating 
the  happiness,  and  receiving  the  approbation  of  my  fellow 
citizens,  whose  freedom  and  felicity  are  fixed  I  trust  for  ever 
on  an  undecaying  basis  of  wisdom  and  virtue. 

Among  the  blessings  which  a  gracious  providence  may  be 
pleased  to  bestow  on  the  people  of  America,  I  shall  behold 
with  peculiar  pleasure,  the  prosperity  of  your  city,  and  the 
individual  happiness  of  its  inhabitants. 

The  home  of  Colonel  Edward  Carrington,  fronting  on 
Clay  Street,  was  on  the  same  square  with  his  office,  a  very 
humble  edifice  shaded  by  a  catalpa  tree  at  the  northwest 
corner  of  Marshall  and  Eleventh  Streets.  For  his  sound- 
ness of  judgment  and  reliability  as  an  officer  in  the  Revolu- 
tion, Colonel  Carrington  had  won  the  respect  and  regard 
of  Washington;  and  it  is  worthy  of  record  that  in  1798, 
when  war  with  France  was  imminent,  Washington  selected 
him  to  be  Quarter-Master-General.  At  the  time  of  Wash- 
ington's visit  in  1791,  Colonel  Carrington  was  a  United 
States  Marshal  for  a  large  district  in  Virginia;  and  this 
"man  of  dignified  deportment,  which  was  well  sustained 
by  his  tall  and  massive  figure"  —  fit  companion  for  the 

56 


Virginia 


majestic  Washington  —  was  in  a  position  to  give  the 
President  accurate  information  regarding  the  state  of  pub- 
lic sentiment  and  opinion  on  national  and  political  issues. 
In  his  diary  (Tuesday,  12th),  Washington  records: 

In  the  course  of  my  enquiries  —  chiefly  from  Col0-  Carring- 
ton  —  I  cannot  discover  that  any  discontents  prevail  among 
the  people  at  large,  at  the  proceedings  of  Congress. —  The 
conduct  of  the  Assembly  respecting  the  assumption  l  he 
thinks  is  condemned  by  them  as  intemperate  &  unwise  — 
and  he  seems  to  have  no  doubt  but  that  the  Excise  law  — 
as  it  is  called  —  may  be  executed  without  difficulty  —  nay 
more,  that  it  will  become  popular  in  a  little  time  —  His  duty 
as  Marshall  having  carried  him  through  all  parts  of  the 
State  lately,  and  of  course  given  him  the  best  means  of  ascer- 
taining the  temper  &  disposition  of  its  Inhabitants  —  he 
thinks  them  favorable  towards  the  General  Government  — 
&  that  they  only  require  to  have  matters  explained  to  them 
in  order  to  obtain  their  full  assent  to  the  measures  adopted 
by  it. 

It  is  obvious  that  Colonel  Carrington  painted  con- 
ditions in  Virginia  couleur  de  rose,  and  that  Washington 
was  only  too  ready  to  credit  what  he  greatly  desired  to  be 
true.  In  a  letter  to  his  friend,  Colonel  Humphreys,  upon 
his  return  to  Mount  Vernon,  Washington  somewhat  cred- 
ulously voices  his  satisfaction:  "Each  day's  experience  of 
the  government  of  the  United  States  seems  to  confirm  its 
establishment,  and  to  render  it  more  popular.   A  ready 

1  A  part  of  Hamilton's  financial  scheme  for  the  United  States  was  the 
assumption  of  the  respective  State  debts  by  the  general  government. 
This  gave  rise  to  violent  opposition,  and  was  the  chief  cause  of  Jefferson's 
bitter  hostility  to  Hamilton.  Out  of  the  party  feelings  engendered  by  the 
assumption  scheme  grew  the  Republican  party,  that,  during  the  latter  years 
of  Washington's  administration,  gave  him  much  trouble  because  of  the 
unkind  spirit  of  opposition  to  the  measures  of  the  government.   (B.  J.  L.) 

57 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

acquiescence  in  the  laws  made  under  it,  shows  in  a  strong 
light  the  confidence  which  the  people  have  in  their  repre- 
sentatives, and  in  the  upright  views  of  those  who  admin- 
ister the  government.  At  the  time  of  passing  a  law  impos- 
ing a  duty  on  home  made  spirits,  it  was  vehemently  af- 
firmed by  many,  that  such  a  law  could  never  be  executed, 
particularly  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  As  it  came  in 
force  only  on  the  first  of  this  month,  little  can  be  said  of  its 
effects  from  experience;  but  from  the  best  information  I 
could  get,  on  my  journey,  respecting  its  operation  on  the 
minds  of  the  people,  (and  I  took  some  pains  to  obtain 
information  on  this  point)  there  remains  no  doubt  but  it 
will  be  carried  into  effect,  not  only  without  opposition,  but 
with  very  general  approbation,  in  those  very  parts  where 
it  was  foretold  it  would  never  be  submitted  to  by  any- 
one." 

The  record  for  Wednesday,  13th,  is  singularly  brief,  con- 
sidering the  fact  that  Washington  appeared  in  public  at  a 
dinner  tendered  him  by  the  Corporation  of  Richmond. 
This  dinner  to  Washington  by  the  Corporation  of  Rich- 
mond was  held  at  the  famous  old  Eagle  Tavern,1  which 
stood  on  Main  Street,  between  what  are  now  Twelfth  and 
Thirteenth  Streets.  No  other  record  of  the  events  of  this 
day  has  as  yet  come  to  light.  Washington's  diary  reads  as 
follows : 

1  Here,  on  March  4,  1805,  the  Democratic  Republican  Party  gave  a 
dinner  to  celebrate  the  inauguration  of  Thomas  Jefferson  for  a  second  term 
as  President  of  the  United  States.  Here,  too,  on  October  i\,  1809,  Jeffer- 
son himself  was  entertained  by  the  citizens  of  Richmond  at  the  close  of  his 
second  term.  In  later  years  it  was  the  scene  of  many  historic  banquets  and 
entertainments. 

58 


Virginia 


Fixed  with  Cola  Carrington  (the  supervisor  of  the  district) 
the  surveys  of  Inspection  for  the  District  of  this  State  & 
named  the  characters  for  them  —  an  acct.  of  which  was 
transmitted  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

Dined  at  a  public  entertainment  given  by  the  Corporation 
of  Richmond. 

The  buildings  in  this  place  have  encreased  a  good  deal 
since  I  was  here  last,  but  they  are  not  of  the  best  kind,  —  the 
number  of  Souls  in  the  City  are .' 

After  an  early  breakfast,  on  Thursday,  14th,  the  Presi- 
dent set  off  for  Petersburg.  At  Manchester  the  people 
were  out  in  force  to  greet  the  traveller  who  embodied  the 
dignity  and  distinction  of  the  new  republic;  and  full  honors 
were  paid  the  general  in  the  salute  of  cannon.  Indeed, 
to  the  President's  surprise,  he  found  drawn  up  at  Man- 
chester, to  attend  him  as  far  as  Osborne's,2  the  cavalry  of 
Chesterfield  County  under  the  command  of  Captain 
David  Meade  Randolph.3  Had  Washington  consulted  his 

1  In  1790  the  population  of  Richmond  was  3761.  In  1800  the  population 
was  5735.  An  approximate  figure  for  the  population  in  1791  is  4000. 

2  A  point  between  Richmond  and  Petersburg,  where  troops  under  the 
traitor  Arnold,  and  the  republicans,  had  a  severe  skirmish  in  April,  1781. 
A  prisoner  captured  by  Arnold  at  that  time  was  asked  by  him,  "If  the 
Americans  should  catch  me,  what  would  they  do  with  me?"  The  soldier 
promptly  replied,  "They  would  bury  with  military  honors  the  leg  which 
was  wounded  at  Quebec  and  Saratoga,  and  hang  the  remainder  of  you  upon 
a  gibbet."   (B.  J.  L.) 

3  David  Meade  Randolph  (born  1760,  died  September  23,  1830)  was  the 
son  of  Richard  Randolph,  2d,  of  "Curies,"  and  his  wife  Anne,  daughter  of 
David  Meade.  He  served  in  the  Revolution  as  Captain  in  Bland's  Dra- 
goons; and  was  United  States  Marshal  for  Virginia.  He  lived  first  at 
"Presqu'ile,"  Chesterfield  County,  near  Osborne's,  and  later  at  the 
corner  of  Fifth  and  Main  Streets,  Richmond  (the  house  afterwards  owned 
by  Mrs.  Allan,  at  the  time  Edgar  Allan  Poe  was  at  the  University  of 
Virginia).  Mrs.  Randolph  was  Mary,  daughter  of  Thomas  M.  Randolph, 
of  "Tuckahoe."  The  Randolph  establishment  in  Richmond  was  dubbed 
"Moldavia,"  after  Molly  and  David,  its  mistress  and  master.  "Mrs. 
Randolph,"  says  Mordecai,  "was  one  of  the  remarkable  and  distinguished 

59 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

own  personal  inclinations,  he  would  doubtless  have  chosen 
to  leave  the  cavalcade  and  accompany  Captain  Randolph 
to  his  fine  plantation  "Presqu'ile,"  of  which  the  Due  de 
La  Rochefoucault-Liancourt  thus  speaks  at  length  in  his 
"Travels":1 

Presqu'ile,  Mr.  Davies  Randolph's  Plantation 

At  Petersburg  I  had  met  Mr.  Davies  Randolph,  for  whom 
I  had  a  letter;  and,  in  consequence  of  his  invitation,  I  went  to 
his  house  and  there  spent  a  day.  He  lives  at  City-Point  or 
Bermuda-Hundred,  the  place  where  the  river  Appomattox 
discharges  its  stream  into  James-River.  Here  the  water  is 
sufficiently  deep  to  admit  ships  of  any  tonnage:  and  this  in 
the  place  where  the  larger  vessels  discharge  their  cargoes  into 
lighters,  and  thus  forward  to  Richmond  and  Petersburg  the 
merchandize  which  they  have  brought.  City-Point  is  the 
spot  where  the  custom-house  is  established  for  those  two 
places.  If  the  towns  of  Richmond  and  Petersburg  had  been 
erected  at  City-Point,  their  commerce  would  have  been  more 
considerable,  their  intercourse  with  Europe  more  direct,  and 
Norfolk  would  not,  as  now  is  the  case,  have  engrossed  almost 
the  entire  trade  of  that  part  of  Virginia.  But  City-Point  lies 
low,  and  is  surrounded  by  swamps.  The  air  in  the  vicinity  is 
not  salubrious;  and,  in  all  probability,  the  detriment  which 
the  inhabitants  must  have  suffered  in  point  of  health  would 
have  been  sufficient  to  counterbalance  the  advantage  of  su- 
perior opulence. 

persons  of  her  day.  .  .  .  The  friend  who  had  named  Moldavia,  now  [after 
she  had  opened  a  boarding-house  on  Carey  Street,  following  her  husband's 
removal  from  office  by  Jefferson]  conferred  on  her  the  title  of  Queen.  .  .  . 
The  Queen  soon  attracted  as  many  subjects  as  her  dominions  could  accom- 
modate, and  a  loyal  set  they  generally  were.  There  were  few  more  festive 
boards  than  the  Queen's.  Wit,  humor,  and  good-fellowship  prevailed.  . . ." 
(Consult  Mordecai:  Richmond  in  By-Gone  Days;  also  William  and  Mary 
Quarterly,  ix,  182,  183,  250-52.) 

1  Travels  through  the  United  States  of  North  America,  the  Country  of  the 
Iroquois,  and  Upper  Canada,  in  the  years  1795,  1796,  and  1797.  Vol.  u. 
(London,  1799.) 

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OF  THE 
BJJiVERSITY  OF  H.LWOIS 


Virginia 


At  a  half-mile  from  the  custom-house  stands  the  habitation 
of  Mr.  Davies  Randolph,  in  one  of  those  long  windings  which 
James-River  forms  in  this  part:  from  which  circumstance  it 
is  that  this  plantation  bears  the  name  of  Presqu'ile  (or  Penin- 
sula). 

Mr.  Davies  Randolph  is  fully  entitled  to  the  reputation 
which  he  enjoys  of  being  the  best  farmer  in  the  whole  country. 
He  possesses  seven  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  land,  of  which 
three  hundred  and  fifty  are  at  present  susceptible  of  cultiva- 
tion; the  rest  are  all  swampy  grounds,  which  may  probably 
be  drained  at  a  considerable  expence,  but  which  have  not  yet 
undergone  that  process.  Eight  negroes  (of  whom  two  are 
little  better  than  children),  two  horses,  and  four  oxen,  culti- 
vate those  three  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  which  he  has  divided 
into  fields  of  forty  acres  inclosed.  Of  those  three  hundred 
and  fifty  acres,  only  forty,  which  are  subdivided  into  six 
portions,  are  alternately  dunged;  the  remainder  never  has 
been  so. 

The  common  rotation  of  culture  in  the  country  is,  Indian 
corn,  wheat,  fallow,  and  thus  again  in  regular  succession. 
The  lands  produce  from  five  to  eight  bushels  of  wheat  per 
acre,  and  from  twelve  to  fifteen  of  Indian  corn,  according 
to  their  quality.  Mr.  Randolph  has  deviated  from  this  sys- 
tem of  culture  on  his  estate:  that  which  he  pursues  is  as 
follows  —  Indian  corn,  oats,  wheat,  rye,  fallow;  and  he 
raises  from  ten  to  twelve  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  and  from 
eighteen  to  twenty-five  of  Indian  corn.  The  rise  in  the  price 
of  wheat  has  induced  him  to  vary  the  rotation  of  his  crops, 
and  to  substitute  that  of  wheat,  oats  or  rye,  wheat,  two  years' 
fallow.  By  pursuing  this  method,  he  reaps  from  thirteen  to 
sixteen  bushels  of  wheat.  He  separately  cultivates  the  Indian 
corn  in  one  or  two  fields  according  to  his  former  rotation.  He 
has  proved  by  experience  that  manuring  with  dung  triples  the 
produce.  His  lands  are  good;  and,  compared  with  the  rest  of 
the  country,  they  are  kept  in  very  excellent  condition,  though 
very  indifferently  in  comparison  with  the  most  ordinary 
husbandry  of  Europe.  He  keeps  no  cows  except  for  the  pur- 
poses of  the  dairy,  and  to  furnish  him  with  calves  for  his  own 

61 


Washington's  Southern  Tour" 

consumption.  His  cows  are  very  fine,  and  of  his  own  rearing. 
His  labouring  oxen  are  of  a  small  breed;  and  it  is  thought  in 
the  country  that  those  of  larger  size  could  not  stand  the  heat. 
He  purchases  those  labouring  oxen  at  thirty  dollars  the  pair. 
Mr.  Randolph  feeds  thirty  sheep,  but  merely  for  the  supply 
of  his  own  table. 

He  declares  that  each  of  his  negroes  last  year  produced  to 
him,  after  all  expences  paid,  a  net  sum  of  three  hundred  dol- 
lars, although  he  sold  his  wheat  for  no  more  than  a  dollar  the 
bushel.  He  expected  that  they  would  this  year  have  cleared 
him  four  hundred  dollars  each;  but  the  fall  in  the  prices  of 
produce  will  disappoint  his  hopes. 

The  situation  of  his  house  gives  him  also  the  means  of 
annually  selling  eight  or  nine  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  fish 
—  sturgeon,  shad,  and  herrings,  which  he  salts. 

His  swampy  grounds  supply  him  with  abundance  of  timber 
for  fuel  and  fences:  but  they  produce  a  still  greater  abundance 
of  noxious  exhalations  which  prove  a  source  of  frequent  and 
dangerous  diseases.  Mr.  Randolph  is  himself  very  sickly; 
and  his  young  and  amiable  wife  has  not  enjoyed  one  month 
of  good  health  since  she  first  came  to  live  on  this  plantation. 
Accordingly  Mr.  Randolph  intends  to  quit  it,  and  remove  to 
Richmond,  where  moreover  he  has  frequent  business  in  con- 
sequence of  his  office,  which  is  that  of  marshal  to  the  state. 
He  wishes  to  sell  this  plantation,  which,  in  the  worst  years, 
has  brought  him  in  eighteen  hundred  dollars,  and  which,  for 
the  last  two  years,  has  yielded  him  three  thousand  five  hun- 
dred. It  is  in  very  good  condition:  but  he  cannot  find  a  pur- 
chaser for  it  at  the  sum  of  twenty  thousand  dollars,  which  he 
demands.  This  fact  furnishes  a  proper  idea  of  the  low  price  of 
land  in  Virginia.  I  have  been  assured,  that,  although  some  of 
the  lands  have  doubled  their  value  during  the  last  twenty 
years,  a  much  greater  portion  have  fallen  in  their  price. 

At  Osborne's,  the  company  was  swelled  by  the  addition 

of  the  cavalry  of  Prince  George  and  Dinwiddie  Counties, 

and  a  considerable  number  of  the  citizens  of  Petersburg. 

Much  interest  had  been  displayed  by  the  people  of 

62 


Virginia 


Petersburg  long  in  advance  of  Washington's  coming.  On 
March  22d,  at  the  house  of  Robert  Armistead  (which  was 
used  both  by  the  Hustings  Court  and  the  Common 
Council  of  the  town  of  Petersburg),  a  meeting  of  the 
Common  Council  was  held;  present:  Joseph  Westmore, 
Esq.,  Mayor,  and  Samuel  Davies,  Thomas  G.  Peachy, 
Rob.  Bate,  Joseph  Weisiger,  Archibald  Gracie,  Gentlemen 
Aldermen;  James  Geddy,  William  Durrell,  John  Story, 
Benjamin  Smith,  and  Daniel  Dobson,  Gentlemen  of  the 
Common  Council.  In  the  records  of  this  meeting  appears 
the  following:  "The  Hall  having  received  information, 
that  the  President  of  the  United  States  is  expected  shortly 
to  pass  through  this  place  on  his  way  to  the  Southward  — 
It  is  thought  proper  in  order  to  shew  the  sense  and  respect 
of  this  Corporation  to  his  Excellency's  person  and  char- 
acter, that  an  address  ought  to  be  presented  to  him  on  his 
arrival  in  this  place."  The  address  finally  delivered  is 
spread  upon  the  minutes  of  this  same  day.  In  the  records 
of  Wednesday,  April  13th,  appears  the  following: 

It  being  represented  to  this  Hall  that  the  President  of  the 
United  States  is  expected  to  arrive  in  this  town  to-morrow, 
and  from  certain  circumstances  that  have  taken  place,  it  may 
be  expected  that  a  public  dinner  is  to  be  provided  for  the 
occasion  —  It  is  therefore  ordered,  that  Mr.  Robert  Armi- 
stead be  requested  to  provide  a  public  dinner  to-morrow,  to 
be  paid  out  of  the  subscriptions  obtained  for  that  purpose  — 
and,  it  is  ordered  that  a  Ball  be  also  provided  (out  of  the 
subscriptions  already  obtained)  on  Friday  next.  That  the 
President  and  his  suit  be  invited  thereto,  and  that  they  also, 
together  with  the  Judges  of  the  District  Court  be  invited  to 
Dine  on  Friday  with  the  members  of  the  Common  Hall,  at 
Mr.  Durell's  —  Mr.  Davis,  Mr.  Gracie  &  Mr.  Buchanan  are 

63 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

appointed  to  contract  for,  and  to  provide  dinner  on  Friday 
and  to  adjust  the  ceremonies  etc.  No  member  is  to  invite 
more  than  two  gentlemen  to  dinner  Friday,  and  is  to  pay  for 
the  gentlemen  they  may  invite. —  And  whereas,  It  hath  been 
recommended,  heretofore,  by  the  Common  Hall  that  a  Gen- 
eral Illumination  should  be  on  the  evening  of  the  arrival  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States  in  this  Town  —  But  upon 
reconsideration  the  Common  Hall  taking  into  view  the  dan-  ■ 
gerous  consequences  which  might  attend  a  general  illumina- 
tion of  the  Houses,  being  chiefly  of  wood,  in  this  Town,  Do 
Request  the  Inhabitants  to  refrain  from  Illuminating  either 
their  Dwelling  Houses  or  Stores  on  any  evening  during  the 
stay  of  the  President  in  this  Town.1 

As  Washington  mounted  the  high  bluffs  overlooking 
Petersburg,  now  called  Colonial  Heights,  and  saw  the  fair 
town  stretched  out  before  him,  he  may  have  thought  of  the 
famous  Colonel  William  Byrd,  founder  of  both  the  city  he 
had  recently  left  and  the  town  he  was  now  approaching. 
After  visiting  his  plantation,  called  "The  Land  of  Eden" 
and  located  on  the  Roanoke  River  in  North  Carolina, 
in  1733,  Byrd  recorded  in  his  journal:  "When  we  got 
home  we  laid  the  foundation  of  two  large  cities  —  one  at 
Shocco's,  to  be  called  Richmond,  and  the  other  at  the  foot 
of  Appomattox  River,  to  be  called  Petersburg.  .  .  .  These 
places,  being  the  uppermost  landing  of  James  and  Appo- 
mattox Rivers,  are  naturally  intended  for  marts,  where  the 
traffic  of  the  outer  inhabitants  must  centre.  Thus  did  we 
build  not  castles  only,  but  cities  in  the  air."  As  the  Presi- 
dent entered  the  town,  he  passed  beneath  triumphal  arches 
which  had  been  erected  for  the  occasion;  and  was  con- 

1  Robert  Armistead  was  the  proprietor  of  Armistead's  Tavern,  after- 
wards known  as  Powell's  Tavern. 

64 


Virginia 


ducted  to  the  house  of  Robert  Armistead,  "where  an  ele- 
gant entertainment  was  provided,  at  which  the  President 
was  pleased  to  favour  the  citizens  with  his  presence.  After 
dinner  a  number  of  patriotic  toasts  were  drunk,  attended 
by  a  discharge  of  cannon."  *  Owing  to  the  fact  that  the 
President  was  to  be  in  town  only  on  Thursday,  the  din- 
ner at  Durell's  Tavern  on  Old  Street  —  once  famous  as 
the  Golden  Ball  Tavern,  where  the  British  officers  had 
been  quartered  during  the  Revolution  —  which  had  been 
planned  for  Friday,  was  of  necessity  abandoned.  How- 
ever, a  committee  from  the  Common-Hall,  headed  by  the 
Mayor,  Joseph  Westmore,  waited  upon  the  President,  and 
delivered  the  following  "Address  of  the  Mayor,  Recorder, 
Aldermen,  and  Common  Council,  of  the  town  of  Peters- 
burg." This  address  is  significant,  in  that  it  expressly 
states  that  the  people  of  Petersburg  look  upon  Washington 
as  "the  Father  of  his  Country"  —  which  gives  a  clue  to 
that  veneration  which  Washington  had  inspired  in  the 
people  everywhere. 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States 
Sir 

We  avail  ourselves  of  the  earliest  opportuni  ty  that  your  pres- 
ence has  afforded  us,  to  offer  you  our  sincere  and  affectionate 
respects;  to  welcome  you,  most  cordially,  to  this  place,  and  to 
assure  you,  which  we  do  with  confidence  of  the  high  regard 
and  great  affection  the  inhabitants  of  this  town  entertain  for 
your  person,  and  your  many  virtues.  We  look  upon  you,  Sir, 
as  the  father  of  your  country,  and  the  friend  of  mankind,  and 
when  we  contemplate  your  character  in  that  light,  we  feel 
ourselves  impressed  with  the  purest  sentiments  of  gratitude, 
respect  and  veneration.  May  you  long  continue  at  the  head 
1  Virginia  Herald,  and  Fredericksburg  Advertiser,  April  28,  1791. 

65 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

of  our  government,  honoured,  respected  and  beloved,  as  you 
are  at  present,  and  we  pray,  most  ardently,  that  the  all-wise 
Director  of  human  events,  may  prolong  your  life  to  a  far  dis- 
tant period  of  time,  and  may  bless  you  to  your  latest  breath, 
with  health  uninterrupted,  and  with  that  happy  tranquility 
of  mind  which  ever  flows  from  a  conscious  rectitude,  and 
from  a  heart  always  anxious  to  promote  the  happiness  of  the 
human  race. 

We  sincerely  wish  that  the  tour  which  you  are  about  to 
make,  may  be  an  agreeable  one,  and  that  it  may  afford  you 
every  imaginable  satisfaction. 

The  President  made  the  following  conventionally  phrased, 
yet  doubtless  sincerely  felt  reply: 

Gentlemen, 

Receiving  with  pleasure,  I  reply  with  sincerity  to  your  flat- 
tering and  affectionate  address.  I  render  justice  to  your 
regard,  and  to  my  own  feelings,  when  I  express  the  gratitude 
which  the  sentiments  it  contains  have  inspired,  and  you  will 
allow  me  to  say,  that  gratitude  so  impressed,  must  be  lasting. 

The  government  of  the  United  States,  originating  in  the 
wisdom,  supported  by  the  virtue,  and  having  no  other  object 
than  the  happiness  of  the  people,  reposes  not  on  the  exertions 
of  an  individual  —  yet,  as  far  as  integrity  of  intention  may 
justify  the  belief,  my  agency  in  the  administration  will  be 
consonant  to  your  favourable  opinions;  —  and  my  private 
wishes  will  always  be  proffered  for  the  prosperity  of  Peters- 
burg and  the  particular  welfare  of  its  inhabitants.1 

In  addition  to  the  public  dinner  given  by  the  Mayor 
and  Corporation,  Washington  in  the  evening  attended  an 
"Assembly"  or  ball  at  the  Mason's  Hall  at  which,  accord- 
ing to  his  diary,  there  were  present  "between  60  and  70 
ladies."   It  is  plain  that  Washington  was  wholly  uninter- 

1  Washington's  reply  to  the  address  of  welcome  appears  upon  the  town 
records,  beneath  the  entry:  "At  a  court  of  Common  Council  held  in  the 
town  of  Petersburg  on  Thursday  14th  of  April  1791." 

66 


Virginia 


ested  in  the  number  of  men  who  were  present,  as  he  does 
not  refer  to  them ! 

Agriculture  and  commerce  always  constitute  the  main 
points  of  interest  with  Washington,  as  the  following  entry 
indicates: 

Petersburg  which  is  said  to  contain  near  3000  Souls  is  well 
situated  for  trade  at  present,  but  when  the  James  River  navi- 
gation is  completed  and  the  cut  from  Elizabeth  River  to 
Pasquotanck  effected  it  must  decline  &  and  that  very  con- 
siderably. —  At  present  it  receives  at  the  Inspections  nearly 
a  third  of  the  Tobacco  exported  from  the  whole  State  besides 
a  considerable  quantity  of  Wheat  and  flour  —  much  of  the 
former  being  Manufactured  at  the  Mills  near  the  Town  — 
Chief  of  the  buildings,  in  this  town  are  under  the  hill  & 
unpleasantly  situated,  but  the  heights  around  it  are  agree- 
able. 

The  Road  from  Richmond  to  this  place  passes  through  a 
poor  country  principally  covered  with  Pine  except  the  inter- 
val lands  on  the  River  which  we  left  on  our  left. 

Perhaps  it  is  worthy  of  record  that  Pollock,  in  his 
"Guide,"  Observes:  "From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  Wash- 
ington was  by  no  means  an  infallible  prophet,  for  neither 
did  the  population  of  Petersburg  fall  off  nor  was  his  be- 
loved scheme  of  James  River  navigation  ever  'com- 
pleted.'" The  brevity  of  Washington's  visit  doubtless 
prevented  a  visit  to  that  "most  unique  memorial  in 
America,"  Old  Blandford  Church  —  "standing  in  quiet 
beauty  amid  acres  of  heroic  dust "  —  concerning  which  the 
Irish  tragedian,  Tyrone  Power,  it  is  believed,  penned  the 
lines: 

1  Historical  and  Industrial  Guide  to  Petersburg,  Virginia,  by  Edward 
Pollock.   Petersburg,  i860. 

67 


J/Vashingto7i>s  Southern  Tour 

O!  could  we  call  the  many  back 
Who've  gathered  here  in  vain,  — 
Who've  careless  roved  where  we  do  now, 
Who'll  never  meet  again: 


How  would  our  very  souls  be  stirred, 

To  meet  the  earnest  gaze 
Of  the  lovely  and  the  beautiful 

The  lights  of  other  days! 

Petersburg  enjoys  the  unenviable  distinction  of  being 
the  scene  of  the  departure  of  Washington  —  for  the  only 
historically  recorded  occasion  —  from  the  strait  and  nar- 
row path  of  strict  veracity.  The  preceding  day,  the  dust 
kicked  up  by  the  numerous  cavalry  of  Chesterfield,  Prince 
William,  and  Dinwiddie  had  got  into  the  eyes,  throat,  and 
nostrils  of  the  long-suffering  pater  sua  patrice  —  and  made 
him  most  uncomfortable.  How  endeared  we  are  to  the 
supposed  "hero  of  the  cherry-tree  story,"  to  the  improb- 
able person  who  "could  not  tell  a  lie,"  by  this  thor- 
oughly human  trait  —  the  truth  of  the  incident  being 
attested  by  the  fact  that  it  is  recorded  by  Washington 
himself  in  his  diary! 

Friday,  April  i$th. 

Having  suffered  very  much  by  the  dust  yesterday  —  and 
finding  that  parties  of  Horse  &  a  number  of  other  Gentle- 
men were  intending  to  attend  me  part  of  the  way  to-day,  I 
caused  their  enquiries  respecting  the  time  of  my  setting  out, 
to  be  answered  that,  I  should  endeavor  to  do  it  before  eight 
o'clock;  but  I  did  it  a  little  after  five,  by  which  means  I 
avoided  the  inconveniences  above  mentioned. 

With  Jesuitical  piety,  the  hero-worshipping    Edward 

Everett  apologetically  observes:  "The  President  started 

68 


DRY-POINT  ETCHING   BY   JOSEPH   WRIGHT 


jiff  HfWW 
OF  !HE 


Virginia 


from  Petersburg  practicing  a  little  artifice  as  to  the  time 
of  his  departure  —  of  which  I  recollect  no  other  instance 
in  his  whole  career  —  and  which,  involving  no  departure 
from  the  strictest  truth,  and  resorted  to  for  the  best  of 
reasons,  will  not  be  blamed"! 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  SECOND  STAGE 

North  Carolina :  Ha/if  ax,  Tarborough,  Greenville,  New  Berne 

TO  Washington,  who  always  rejoiced  when  his  con- 
duct evoked  the  plaudits  of  the  nation,  must  have 
come  a  sense  of  gratification  amounting  to  elation  on 
observing  the  popular  approbation  of  the  Southern  tour. 
The  President  was  heartily  commended  in  the  press  of  the 
day  for  combining  "the  pleasant"  and  "the  useful"  — 
for  taking  an  outing  which  would  be  not  merely  beneficial 
to  his  health  and  a  pleasing  relaxation  from  the  weighty 
affairs  of  government,  but  primarily  designed  for  the 
benefit  of  the  people  at  large.  "Perhaps  as  the  former 
King  of  Spain,"  comments  a  representative  writer,  "he 
might  have  chosen  to  sport  away  an  hour  now  and  then 
in  bobbing  for  gudgeon,  or  shooting  snipe  —  Or  like  the 
King  of  France  regularly  a  fourth  part  of  the  day  in  stag 
hunting,  or  something  similar  —  Or  in  imitation  of  the 
King  of  Great  Britain,  have  indulged  betimes  in  the 
amusement  of  a  Fox-Chase ;  but  let  our  Washington  set 
the  example  —  already  it  is  followed  —  The  Secretary  of 
State,  and  a  distinguished  member  of  the  federal  legisla- 
ture, have  spent  some  time  in  a  tour  thro  part  of  the  east- 
ern states.  Their  observations,  and  the  information  they 
will  collect  in  their  journey,  will  probably  be  turned  to 
good  account.  .  .  .  What  satisfaction  must  it  afford  every 
citizen  of  these  United  States,  to  observe  the  pains  our 

70 


North  Carolina 

President  has  taken,  since  the  dissolution  of  the  last 
federal  legislature,  to  improve  the  interval  between  it  and 
the  next,  for  the  good  of  the  people  over  which  he  presides, 
by  visiting  the  Southern  extremity  of  the  confederated 
republic."  1 

Everywhere,  as  Washington's  chariot  with  its  outriders 
and  baggage-wagon  passed  along,  it  was  recognized  by 
the  farmers  working  in  the  fields,  by  the  slaves,  by  the 
children.  When  the  shout  went  up:  "The  President  is 
coming!  The  President  is  coming!"  farmers  left  their 
ploughshares,  negroes  dropped  shovel,  rake,  and  hoe, 
housewives  left  their  duties  —  all  rushed  down  to  the  road- 
side and,  as  the  majestic  and  awe-inspiring  Washington  in 
his  impressive-looking  chariot  passed  along,  waved  their 
hats  and  handkerchiefs  and  shouted  "Huzza"  and  "Long 
live  the  President"  with  fervent  enthusiasm.  We  must 
imagine  these  scenes,  for  they  assuredly  occurred  —  and 
frequently;  but  Washington  makes  no  mention  of  them  in 
the  pages  of  his  diary.  The  following  extracts  deal  with 
two  singularly  uneventful  days  —  there  being  no  towns 
or  cities  along  the  way  and  no  formal  demonstrations  of 
any  kind  taking  place: 
Friday,  \$th.  .  .  . 

I  came  twelve  miles  to  breakfast,  at  one  Jesse  Lee's,  a 
tavern  newly  set  up  upon  a  small  scale,  and  15  miles 
farther  to  dinner;  and  where  I  lodged,  at  the  House  of  one 
Oliver,  which  is  a  good  one  for  horses,  and  where  there  are 
tolerable  clean  beds.  —  For  want  of  proper  stages  I  could  go 
no  farther.  —  The  Road  along  whch  I   travelled  today  is 

1  The  General  Advertiser  (Philadelphia). 
71 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

through  a  level  piney  Country,  until  I  came  to  Nottoway,1  on 
which  there  seems  to  be  some  good  land,  the  rest  is  very  poor 
&  seems  scarce  of  Water. 

Finding  that  the  two  horses  wch.  drew  my  baggage  waggon 
were  rather  too  light  for  the  draught;  and,  (one  of  them  espe- 
cially) losing  his  flesh  fast,  I  engaged  two  horses  to  be  at  this 
place  this  evening  to  carry  it  to  the  next  stage  20  miles  off  in 
the  morning,  and  sent  them  on  led  to  be  there  ready  for  me. 

Saturday,  16th. 

Got  into  my  Carriage  a  little  after  5  o'clock,  and  travelled 
thro'  a  cloud  of  dust  until  I  came  within  two  or  three  miles  of 
Hix's  ford  when  it  began  to  Rain.  —  Breakfasted  at  one 
Andrews'  a  small  but  decent  House  about  a  mile  after  pass- 
ing the  ford  (or  rather  the  bridge)  over  Meherrin  River.  — 
Although  raining  moderately,  but  with  appearances  of  break- 
ing up,  I  continued  my  journey  —  induced  to  it  by  the  crouds 
which  were  coming  into  a  general  Muster  at  the  Court 
House  of  Greensville,  who  would  I  presumed  soon  have  made 
the  Ho.  I  was  in  too  noizy  to  be  agreeable.  —  I  had  not  how- 
ever rode  two  miles  before  it  began  to  be  stormy,  &  to  rain 
violently  which,  with  some  intervals,  it  contind.  to  do  the 
whole  afternoon.  —  The  uncomfortableness  of  it,  for  Men 
&  Horses,  would  have  induced  me  to  put  up;  but  the  only 
Inn  short  of  Hallifax  having  no  stables  in  wch.  the  horses 
could  be  comfortable,  &  no  Rooms  or  beds  which  appeared 
tolerable,  &  every  thing  else  having  a  dirty  appearance,  I  was 
compelled  to  keep  on  to  Hallifax;  27  miles  from  Andrews  — 
48  from  Olivers  —  and  75  from  Petersburgh  —  At  this  place 
(i.e.  Hallifax)  I  arrived  about  six  o'clock,  after  crossing  the 
Roanoke;  on  the  South  bank  of  which  it  stands. 

This  River  is  crossed  in  flat  Boats  which  take  in  a  Carriage 
&  four  horses  at  once.  —  At  this  time,  being  low,  the  water 
was  not  rapid  but  at  times  it  must  be  much  so,  as  it  fre- 
quently overflows  its  banks  which  appear  to  be  at  least  25  ft. 
perpendicular  height. 

1  The  Nottoway  and  the  Meherrin  Rivers  unite  to  form  the  Chowan 
River,  which  empties  into  Albemarle  Sound. 

72 


North  Carolina 

The  lands  upon  the  River  appear  rich,  &  the  low  grounds  of 
considerable  width  —  but  those  which  lay  between  the  dif- 
ferent Rivers  —  namely  Appomattox,  Nottaway,  Meherrin 
and  Roanoke  are  all  alike  flat,  poor  &  covered  principaly 
with  pine  timber. 

It  has  already  been  observed  that  before  the  Rain  fell,  I 
was  travelling  in  a  continued  cloud  of  dust  —  but  after  it  had 
rained  some  time,  the  Scene  was  reversed,  and  my  passage 
was  through  water;  so  level  are  the  Roads. 

From  Petersburg  to  Hallifax  (in  sight  of  the  Road)  are  but 
few  good  Houses,  with  small  appearances  of  wealth.  —  The 
lands  are  cultivated  in  Tobacco  —  Corn,  —  Wheat  &  Oats,  but 
Tobacco  &  the  raising  of  Porke  for  market,  seems  to  be  the 
principal  dependence  of  the  Inhabitants ;  especially  towards  the 
Roanoke.  —  Cotton  &  Flax  are  also  raised  but  not  extensively. 

Hallifax  is  the  first  town  I  came  to  after  passing  the  line 
between  the  two  States,  and  is  about  20  miles  from  it.  —  To 
this  place  vessels  by  the  aid  of  Oars  &  Setting  poles  are 
brought  for  the  produce  which  comes  to  this  place,  and  others 
along  the  River;  and  may  be  carried  8  or  10  miles  higher  to 
the  falls  which  are  neither  great  nor  of  much  extent;  — 
above  these  (which  are  called  the  great  falls)  there  are  others; 
but  none  but  what  may  with  a  little  improvement  be  passed. 
This  town  stands  upon  high  ground;  and  it  is  the  reason 
given  for  not  placing  it  at  the  head  of  the  navigation  there 
being  none  but  low  ground  between  it  and  the  falls  —  It 
seems  to  be  in  a  decline  &  does  not  it  is  said  contain  a  thou- 
sand Souls.1 

1  "  Halifax,  on  the  Roanoke,"  says  McRee,  "is  the  centre  of  one  of  the 
most  fertile  regions  in  America;  it  was  long  noted  for  the  opulence,  hospi- 
tality, fashion  and  gaiety  of  its  citizens."  It  was  at  Halifax,  on  April  12, 
1776,  that  the  Provincial  Congress  of  North  Carolina  "Resolved,  That  the 
delegates  for  this  colony  in  the  Continental  Congress  be  impowered  to 
concur  with  the  delegates  of  the  other  colonies  in  declaring  indepen- 
dency .  .  ."  North  Carolina  was  thus  the  first  colony  to  "vote  explicit 
sanction  to  independence."  In  his  Journal  (1783),  General  Nathanael 
Greene  says  "Halifax  is  a  little  village,  containing  about  fifty  or  sixtv 
houses,  on  the  banks  of  the  Roanoke,  one  hundred  miles  from  the  sea.  . . . 
Mr.  Wily  Jones  has  the  only  costly  seat  in  or  about  this  place,  and  is  one 
of  its  principal  inhabitants." 

73 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

At  Halifax  resided  two  men  of  eminence  who  had  played 
important  roles  in  the  dramatic  struggle  over  the  ratifica- 
tion of  the  Constitution  by  North  Carolina  —  William 
Richardson  Davie  and  Willie  Jones.  At  the  Hillsborough 
Convention  in  August,  1788,  Jones  had  triumphed  in 
masterly  fashion  in  face  of  the  eloquence  of  Davie,  the 
sanity  of  Iredell,  the  wisdom  of  Steele  —  North  Carolina 
rejecting  the  Constitution  by  a  vote  of  184  to  84.  Jones 
was  greatly  embittered  when,  the  following  year,  North 
Carolina  ratified  the  Constitution.  It  is  said  that,  on  be- 
ing asked  to  act  as  chairman  of  the  committee  concerned 
with  the  entertainment  of  Washington  during  his  stay  in 
Halifax,  Jones  declined  with  the  observation:  "I  shall  be 
glad  to  greet  General  Washington  as  soldier  and  man; 
but  I  am  unwilling  to  greet  him  in  his  official  capacity  as 
President  of  the  United  States."  l 

At  Halifax  Washington  was  doubtless  greeted  and  with 
especial  warmth,  by  his  Masonic  brethren  of  the  famous 
Royal  White  Hart  Lodge 2  —  the  second  oldest  Masonic 

1  Willie  Jones  was  a  personality  of  strange  eccentricity,  as  well  as  of 
great  gifts.  At  one  time  he  was  President  of  the  Council  of  Safety,  and  so 
acting  Governor  of  North  Carolina  until  the  election  of  Governor  Richard 
Caswell  in  1776.  Elected  in  1787,  he  declined  to  serve  as  delegate  to  the 
Convention  at  Philadelphia  to  adopt  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  which  he  vehemently  opposed.  Among  other  curious  clauses  in  his 
will  is  the  following:  "My  family  and  friends  are  not  to  mourn  my  death 
even  by  a  black  rag;  on  the  contrary  I  give  to  my  wife  and  three  daughters 
each  a  Quaker  colored  silk  to  make  them  hoods  on  the  occasion"!  Cf.  W. 
C.  Allen:  History  of  Halifax  County  (Boston,  1918). 

2  At  the  meeting  of  the  Royal  White  Hart  Lodge,  December  27,  1799, 
notice  having  been  given  of  the  "death  of  our  beloved  Brother  George 
Washington,  Grand  Master  of  the  United  States,"  it  was: 

"Resolved  unanimously,  that  this  Lodge  go  into  the  usual  mourning  for 
the  day  &  that  the  members  thereof  wear  a  white  Crape  around  their  left 

74 


North  Carolina 

lodge  in  North  Carolina  and  chartered  by  the  Revolution- 
ary patriot,  Cornelius  Harnett.  Here  somewhat  earlier 
dwelt  the  distinguished  citizen,  Joseph  Montfort,  some- 
time Master  of  this  lodge,  who  held  from  the  Duke  of 
Beaufort,  Grand  Master  of  England,  a  commission  as 
"Provincial  Grand  Master  of  and  for  America."  x  One  of 
his  daughters,  Mary,  was  the  wife  of  Willie  Jones ;  the 
other,  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  Colonel  John  Baptista  Ashe.2 
On  Sunday,  17th,  "C0I0'  Ashe  the  Representative  of  the 
district  in  which  this  town  stands,  and  several  other 
Gentlemen,"  records  Washington  in  his  diary,  "called 
upon,  and  invited  me  to  partake  of  a  dinner  which  the  In- 
habitants were  desirous  of  seeing  me  at  &  excepting 
it   dined  with  them  accordingly."    The   local  tradition 

arm  for  the  space  of  one  month,  in  testimony  of  their  respect  &  affection 
for  the  said  dec'd  &  in  remembrance  of  his  many  patriotic  and  masonic 
virtues." 

This  resolution  was  ordered  published  ;  and  on  the  following  February 
22d,  the  Lodge  ordered  a  "funeral  oration"  to  be  delivered,  which  was 
duly  done  by  the  brother,  the  Reverend  James  L.  Wilson. 

For  this  information  I  am  indebted  to  Sterling  Marshall  Gary,  Esq., 
Clerk  of  the  Superior  Court,  Halifax  County. 

1  The  original  document,  which  is  unique  in  Masonic  history,  is  pre- 
served in  the  archives  of  Masonry  in  North  Carolina.  See  Proceed- 
ings of  the  Grand  Council  Royal  and  Select  Masters  of  North  Carolina 
(1911). 

2  John  Baptista  Ashe,  born  at  Rocky  Point,  North  Carolina  (1748),  was 
the  son  of  Governor  John  Ashe  and  Mary  (Porter)  Ashe.  Fought  at  the 
Battle  of  Alamance  in  1771.  Early  in  the  Revolution  was  appointed  cap- 
tain in  the  Sixth  Regiment  of  Continental  Troops.  Served  under  General 
Greene  at  the  Battle  of  Eutaw  Springs.  Attained  rank  of  lieutenant- 
colonel.  Member  of  the  North  Carolina  Society  of  the  Cincinnati.  Was 
married  to  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Colonel  Joseph  Montfort,  October  7, 
1779.  Member  of  the  Continental  Congress  (1787-88),  and  of  the  First  and 
Second  Congresses  under  the  Constitution  (1789-93).  Member  of  North 
Carolina  House  of  Commons  (1786),  of  the  State  Senate  (1789,  1795).  By 
the  Legislature  in  1802  he  was  elected  Governor  of  North  Carolina,  but 
died  before  being  inaugurated. 

75 


TVashi?igtorfs  Southern  Tour 

runs  that  he  was  royally  banqueted  at  the  Eagle  Hotel,1 
near  the  river  in  the  lot  almost  opposite  the  Allen  home, 
which  is  still  standing.2  A  Revolutionary  soldier,  particu- 
larly distinguished  for  his  action  at  the  battle  of  Eutaw 
Springs,  Colonel  Ashe  had  already  endeared  himself  to 
Washington  —  an  additional  tie  being  Ashe's  enthusiastic 
advocacy  of  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  by  North 
Carolina  in  1789.  At  the  banquet  he  probably  regaled 
Washington  with  the  anecdote  of  the  retort  of  his  wife 
to  Colonel  Banastre  Tarleton  during  the  Revolution 
when  General  Leslie  and  the  British  troops  were  quar- 
tered at  Halifax.  Tarleton  often  indulged  his  sarcastic 
wit  in  the  presence  of  Mrs.  Ashe  at  the  expense  of 
Colonel  William  Washington,  her  favorite  hero.  On  one 
occasion,  Tarleton  vauntingly  observed  to  her  that  he 
would  like  to  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing  this  great  hero, 
who  he  had  understood  was  a  very  small  man.  "If  you  had 
looked  behind  you  at  the  Battle  of  Cowpens,  Colonel 
Tarleton,"  she  retorted  quick  as  a  flash,  "you  would  have 
had  that  pleasure"  —  a  taunt  which  utterly  humiliated 
the  British  swashbuckler.  Mrs.  Ashe  made  another  famous 
retort  to  Tarleton,  who  on  one  occasion  said  that  he  under- 
stood Colonel  Washington  was  so  illiterate  that  he  could 
scarcely  sign  his  name.  "At  least  he  can  make  his  mark," 
retorted  Mrs.  Ashe,  pointing  to  Tarleton's  hand  which 

1  The  Eagle  Tavern  is  advertised  for  sale  in  the  North  Carolina  Journal 
(Halifax),  November  i8,  1805. 

2  In  a  letter  to  the  Honorable  James  Iredell,  Esq.,  Philadelphia,  written 
from  "Hayes,"  May  23,  1791,  Samuel  Johnston  writes:  "The  Reception  of 
the  President  at  Halifax  was  not  such  as  we  could  wish  tho  in  every  other 
part  of  the  Country  he  was  treated  with  proper  attention." 

76 


JOHN   BAPTISTA  ASHE 


THOMAS   BLOUNT 


RICHARD   DOBBS   SPAIGHT 


JOHN  SITGREAVES 


Of  !HE 
•  -    "i.UHSIS 


North  Carolina 

still  bore  evidence  of  Washington's  sabre-cut.  Thirty-four 
years  later,  when  the  Marquis  de  la  Fayette  visited  Hali- 
fax, he  called  upon  this  famous  lady's  sister,  the  equally 
talented  Mrs.  Willie  Jones,  on  learning  that  she  was  too 
feeble  to  attend  the  reception  in  his  honor.  "The  meeting 
of  the  General  and  this  venerable  lady,"  says  a  contempo- 
rary print,  "was  truly  affecting.  There  was  not  a  dry  eye 
in  the  room.  The  aged  frame  of  Mrs.  Jones  was  convulsed 
with  feeling,  and  the  General  sank  into  a  chair,  overpow- 
ered with  various  and  conflicting  emotions."  1 

Monday,  the  18th,  seems  to  have  been  an  unusually  un- 
eventful day ;  but  we  are  grateful  to  it  for  one  of  the  few 
traces  of  humor  which  the  diary  exhibits  —  Washington's 
tribute  to  the  lone  cannon  which  was  so  energetic  in  salut- 
ing him  upon  his  arrival  at  Tarborough.  The  diary  for  the 
day  reads  as  follows: 

Set  out  by  six  o'clock  —  dined  at  a  small  house  kept  by 
one  Slaughter,  11  Miles  from  Hallifax  and  lodged  at  Tar- 
borough 14  Miles  further. 

This  place  is  less  than  Hallifax,  but  more  lively  and  thriv- 
ing; —  it  is  situated  on  the  Tar  River  which  goes  into  Pamplico 
Sound  and  is  crossed  at  the  Town  by  means  of  a  bridge  a 
great  height  from  the  water,  and  notwithstanding  the  freshes 
rise  sometimes  nearly  to  the  arch.  —  Corn,  Porke,  and  some 

1  Cf.  Mrs.  Ellet's  Women  of  the  American  Revolution;  B.  J.  Lossing's 
Field  Book  of  the  Revolution.  It  is  claimed  by  the  most  reliable  biographers 
of  John  Paul  Jones  that,  out  of  gratitude  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Willie  Jones, 
who  had  befriended  him  in  a  dark  hour  in  his  early  career,  the  young  John 
Paul  took  the  name  of  Jones.  (Consult  Mrs.  R.  DeKoven's  John  Paul 
Jones.) 

The  second  anecdote  related  above  has  been  attributed  to  Mrs.  Jones; 
but  the  Honorable  William  H.  Bailey,  in  his  "Provincial  Reminiscences" 
{North  Carolina  University  Magazine,  1890,  n.s.,  x)  states  that  the  "family 
tradition  in  writing  credits  Mrs.  Ashe  therewith." 

77 


Washington's  Southern  Tonr 

Tar  are  the  exports  from  it.  —  We  were  reed,  at  this  place  by 
as  good  a  salute  as  could  be  given  by  one  piece  of  artillery.1 

In  his  diary  of  April  19th,  Washington  records: 

At  6  o'clock  I  left  Tarborough  accompanied  by  some  of  the 
most  respectable  people  of  the  place  for  a  few  miles  —  dined 
at  a  trifling  place  called  Greenville  25  miles  distant — and 
lodged  at  one  Allan's  14  miles  further  a  very  indifferent 
house  without  stabling  which  for  the  first  time  since  I 
commenced  my  Journey  were  obliged  to  stand  without  £ 
cover. 

The  name  of  the  town  of  Martinborough,  by  an  act  in- 
corporating Pitt  Academy  there  in  1786,  was  changed  to 
"Greenesville"  in  honor  of  General  Nathanael  Greene. 
The  "one  Allan"  to  whom  Washington  here  refers  was 
Shadrack  Allen,  whose  place  was  known  as  Crown  Point.2 
Here  was  located  one  of  the  earliest  of  Masonic  Lodges  es- 
tablished in  North  Carolina;  in  the  records  of  a  Quarterly 
Communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts, 
held  at  the  Royal  Exchange  in  Boston  on  October  24,  1766, 
it  is  referred  to  as  the  "First  Lodge  in  Pitt  County." 
During  his  stop  at  Allen's,  he  was  doubtless  visited  by 

1  As  early  as  1758  seven  merchants,  one  of  whom  was  Edward  Telfair, 
afterwards  Governor  of  Georgia,  were  selling  merchandise  at  the  village, 
Tar  Burrow.  In  1760  trustees  were  appointed  by  the  Legislature  of  North 
Carolina  to  lay  off  a  town,  known  as  Tarborough.  It  quickly  became  a 
center  of  trade.  It  is  said  that  Washington  was  cordially  entertained  at 
the  "beautiful  residence  overlooking  Tar  River"  belonging  at  the  time  to 
Major  Reading  Blount.  In  his  diary,  entry  for  August  30,  1783,  General 
Nathanael  Greene  records:  "We  dined  at  Mr.  Blount's  in  Tarborough,  a 
small  village  situated  upon  the  banks  of  the  river.  Our  reception  was  polite 
and  entertainment  agreeable."  For  a  sketch  of  Reading  Blount,  consult 
Biographical  History  of  North  Carolina,  1. 

2  At  this  period  Crown  Point  Inn,  just  south  of  Turkey  Swamp,  was  a 
famous  hostelry  on  the  highway  from  Halifax  via  Greenville  to  New 
Berne. 

78 


North  Carolina 

some  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  congratulated  upon 
the  state  of  the  country  and  his  own  achievements.1 
Washington's  diary  of  the  19th  continues: 

Greenville  is  on  Tar  River  and  the  exports  the  same  as 
from  Tarborough  with  a  greater  proportion  of  Tar  —  for  the 
lower  down  the  greater  number  of  Tar  makers  are  there  — 
This  article  is  contrary  to  all  ideas  one  would  entertain  on  the 
subject,  rolled  as  Tobacco  by  an  axis  which  goes  through 
both  heads  —  one  horse  draws  two  barrels  in  this  manner. 

No  doubt  Washington  heard  the  latest  political  news 
from  Allen,  who  was  prominent  in  the  county;  indeed  he 
had  represented  it  in  the  Convention  at  Hillsborough, 
November,  1789,  which  ratified  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.2 

The  house  at  which  Washington  dined  in  Greenville,  if 
tradition  is  to  be  relied  upon,  is  still  standing;  it  is  pointed 
out  to  the  curious  visitor  and  the  transient  motorist  who 
perhaps  stops  for  a  chicken  and  waffle  dinner.  "On  the 
weatherboarding  near  the  front  door  can  yet  be  seen  some 
marks,  which  are  what  time  has  left  of  President  Wash- 

1  The  members  of  the  Masonic  Lodge  at  Crown  Point,  June  24,  1767, 
were  as  follows:  Thomas  Cooper,  Master,  Peter  Bliss,  John  Simpson, 
Richard  Evans,  James  Hall,  Thomas  Hardy,  James  Hill,  Richard  Richard- 
son, William  Pratt,  George  Miller,  John  Leslie,  Nathaniel  Bliss,  Peter 
Richardson,  James  Glasgow,  Robert  Newell,  Peter  Johnson,  William 
Brown,  Bolen  Hall,  John  Barber,  William  Kelly,  Robert  Bigwall,  George 
Evans,  Lenington  Lockart,  William  McClennan,  and  Thomas  Hall.  (Cf. 
The  Beginnings  of  Freemasonry  in  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee,  by 
Marshall  De  Lancey  Haywood,  Raleigh,  N.C.,  1906.) 

2  The  patriotism  of  the  people  of  Greenville  is  attested  in  the  following 
resolution  passed  at  a  meeting,  August  15,  1774: 

"Resolved,  that  as  the  Constitutional  Assembly  of  this  province  are 
prevented  from  Exercising  their  Right  of  providing  for  the  Security  of  the 
Liberties  of  the  People,  that  Right  again  Reverts  to  the  people  as  the  foun- 
dation from  whence  all  power  and  Legislation  flow." 

79 


Washington s  Southern  Tour 

ington's  name,  said  to  have  been  written  by  him  on  that 


occasion."  1 


In  Greenville  the  tradition  still  survives  that  at  Shad- 
rack  Allen's  or  at  his  brother  John's,  farther  on,  Washing- 
ton met  a  young  girl  to  whom  he  was  at  once  greatly 
attracted.  He  is  said  to  have  taken  her  with  him  in  his 
chariot  to  New  Berne ;  and  to  have  escorted  her  with  him 
to  the  dance  at  the  Palace  that  night.  This  was  probably 
the  daughter  of  Colonel  John  Allen. 

On  this  day  Washington  broke  his  ironclad  rule  not  to 
accept  private  hospitality,  under  any  circumstances,  on 
the  tour.  The  situation  arose  through  a  misunderstanding; 
and  Washington  violated  his  oft-enunciated  rule  rather 
than  offend  the  hospitable  feelings  of  warm-hearted  and 
unaffected  admirers.  "Left  Allen's  before  breakfast," 
Washington  records  on  Wednesday,  20th,  "  &  under  a  mis- 
apprehension went  to  a  Col0  Allan's,  supposing  it  to  be  a 
public  house;  where  we  were  very  kindly  &  well  enter- 
tained without  knowing  it  was  at  his  expence,  until  it  was 
too  late  to  rectify  the  mistake." 

Imagine  the  surprise  of  Colonel  John  Allen  and  fam- 
ily, bright  and  early  on  a  Wednesday  morning,  to  see  a 
handsome  coach  with  outriders  turn  into  the  yard  (near 
Pitch  Kettle  in  Craven  County)  and  draw  up  at  the  door. 
Lord  Erskine,  famous  English  advocate,  afterwards  Lord 
Chancellor  of  England,  once  wrote  to  Washington  this 
startling  panegyric:  "I  have  a  large  acquaintance  among 

1  Cf.  Sketches  of  Pitt  County,  by  Henry  T.  King,  Raleigh,  191 1.  About 
the  reliability  of  such  tradition,  there  is  always  room  for  doubt;  I.e.,  p.  101. 
This  house  is  now  occupied  by  Mrs.  Henrietta  Williams. 

80 


North  Carolina 

the  most  valuable  and  exalted  class  of  men,  but  you  are 
the  only  human  being  for  whom  I  have  felt  an  awful  rever- 
ence." If  so  astute  a  judge  of  human  species  as  Lord 
Erskine  could  address  Washington  in  a  tone  of  such  im- 
pressive humility,  then  you  may  picture  the  excitement 
and  flurry,  amounting  to  consternation,  of  Mrs.  Allen  on 
learning  that  the  majestic  Washington  wanted  a  little 
breakfast.  Colonel  Allen  invited  the  guests  in  with  simple 
and  hearty  hospitality;  and  Mrs.  Allen  summoned  all  the 
"cullud"  help  to  assist  her  in  preparing  the  breakfast.  In 
an  hour  or  so,  the  meal  was  ready,  the  bell  was  rung,  and 
all  filed  out  to  the  plain  dining-room,  where  stood  a  board 
literally  groaning  with  the  very  best  the  country  could 
afford.  On  the  table  were  a  young  pig,  a  turkey,  fried 
chicken,  country  ham,  sausages,  eggs  in  every  style, 
waffles,  batter-cakes,  and  hot  soda  biscuits.  Washington 
looked  over  the  whole  table,  and  ordered  —  one  hard- 
boiled  egg  and  a  cup  of  coffee  with  a  little  rum  in  it !  The 
others,  however,  fell  to  with  a  will  and  showed  their  appre- 
ciation of  Mrs.  Allen's  repast  by  the  havoc  which  they 
wrought. 

When  Washington  asked  the  proprietor  of  what  was 
afterward  known  as  the  "Cat  Tail  Plantation"  for  his  bill. 
Colonel  Allen  explosively  responded :  "  Bill !  Why,  you  can 
never  make  a  bill  at  my  house  for  anything  I  can  do  for 
you."  Washington,  who  until  now  had  thought  "Allen's" 
a  place  of  public  entertainment,  yielded  gracefully  in  face  of 
the  vehement  sincerity  of  Allen,  and  cordially  thanked  his 
host  and  hostess  for  their  homely  and  bountiful  hospitality. 


Washington* s  Southern  Tour 

In  after  years  Mrs.  Allen  was  frequently  twitted  on  the 
subject  of  the  President's  frugal  repast  —  but,  being  a 
"good  sport,"  she  took  the  teasing  good-naturedly,  and 
invariably  declared:  "Well,  there  was  glory  enough  any- 
way in  having  General  Washington  as  my  guest!"  ! 

Having  long  since  been  apprized  by  his  brother,  the 
famous  William  Blount,  of  Washington's  intended  tour  of 
the  Southern  States,  General  Thomas  Blount 2  was  eager 
to  show  every  civility  to  the  President.  The  following 
letter  explains  itself: 

Tarborough,  i~]th  April,  1791. 
Gen.  Samuel  Simpson 
Ft.  Barnwell. 
Dear  Sir:  —  By  a  letter  this  evening  received  from  Col. 
Ashe,  I  am  informed  that  the  President  of  the  United  States 
arrived  last  night  at  Halifax  and  the  inference  is  that  he  will 
pass  through  this  Town:  but  on  that  head  my  informant  is  al- 
together silent.    I  give  you  this  information  at  the  request  of 

1  Colonel  John  Allen's  plantation  was  on  the  north  side  of  the  Neuse 
River,  about  twenty  miles  from  New  Berne,  and  ten  miles  above  Street's 
Ferry,  where  Washington  was  met  by  a  delegation  from  New  Berne. 
Compare  "  George  Washington's  Visit  to  New  Berne  and  Vicinity,"  in  The 
Journal  (New  Berne),  May  1,  1891. 

2  Thomas  Blount,  fourth  son  of  Colonel  Jacob  Blount,  of  Blount  Hall, 
Craven  County,  and  his  wife  Barbara  Gray,  was  born  1759.  He  died  in 
1823,  and  was  buried  in  the  Congressional  Cemetery,  Washington,  D.C. 
Served  as  ensign  in  the  Revolution;  was  taken  prisoner  and  sent  to  England. 
Represented  Edgecombe  County  in  State  Assembly,  1792,  1798,  1799. 
Member  of  Congress,  from  Edgecombe  District,  1803,  1809-11,  1821-23. 
Married,  first,  Martha  Baker,  of  South  Quay,  Virginia;  had  one  son,  died 
in  infancy;  married,  second,  Mary  Jacqueline  Sumner,  daughter  of  Gen- 
eral Jethro  Sumner,  no  children.  One  of  the  Commissioners  to  fix  the 
State  capital  at  Wake  Court  House,  now  Raleigh;  and  there  a  principal 
street,  "  Blount  Street,"  is  named  for  him.  His  residence  in  Tarborough 
was  one  of  the  show  places  of  its  day.  His  wife,  Mary  Sumner,  enjoyed 
society  and  they  entertained  with  generous  hospitality.  She  survived  him 
and  made  large  bequests  to  Christ  Church,  Raleigh,  and  to  Calvary 
Church,  Tarborough,  where  she  is  buried. 

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North  Carolina 

Major  Gerrard  who  is  gone  to  Hillsborough,  and  expects  you 
will  repair  to  this  place  with  your  Troop  of  Horse  to  escort 
his  Excellency  through  Pitt  County. 

If  he  should  come  this  way,  it  is  probable  he  will  reach  here 
on  Tuesday  night  at  the  farthest.  If  you  cannot  bring  your 
whole  Troop  it  is  my  opinion  that  it  will  be  proper  to  come 
by  that  time  with  as  many  as  can  be  ready. 

Yours  sincerely 

Thomas  Blount.1 

In  his  account  of  Edgecombe  County,  Jeremiah  Battle 
says:  "Adjacent  to  the  Town  [of  Tarborough]  is  the 
county  seat  of  General  Tfhomas]  Blount,  where  he  has 
lately  built  a  very  good  house,  the  best  that  is  in  the 
county.  This  is  a  beautiful  eminence  overlooking  the 
town.  An  extensive  grove  surrounds  the  house;  back  of 
which  is  a  tract  of  20  or  30  acres  of  rich  swamp,  well 
ditched  and  drained ;  and  is  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation."2 

Colonel  John  Allen  accompanied  Washington  from 
Greenville  to  New  Berne,  as  did  also  the  Pitt  Light  Horse 
under  the  command  of  Captain  Samuel  Simpson,  who 
waited  upon  the  President  as  instructed  by  General 
Blount.  Evidently  Washington  was  as  shy  of  dust  as  ever, 

1  This  letter  was  the  property  of  Mrs.  Henry  R.  Bryan,  of  New  Berne, 
North  Carolina,  a  descendant  of  General  Simpson;  and  this  copy  was  sup- 
plied me,  as  was  also  the  portrait  of  General  Thomas  Blount,  by  Miss  Lida 
T.  Rodman,  of  Washington,  North  Carolina,  a  descendant  of  the  Blounts. 
The  original  is  preserved  in  the  Hall  of  History,  Raleigh,  North  Carolina. 
General  Samuel  Simpson,  the  son  of  Colonel  John  Simpson  of  Pitt 
County,  North  Carolina,  the  Revolutionary  patriot,  was  a  member  of 
the  Convention  at  Fayetteville,  North  Carolina,  November,  1789,  which 
adopted  the  Federal  Constitution.  He  is  referred  to  by  William  Blount 
in  a  letter  already  printed  in  full  (Chapter  I.) 

2  From  Thomas  Henderson  s  Letter-Book,  in  archives  of  North  Carolina 
Historical  Commission,  Raleigh,  North  Carolina.  Battle's  account  bears 
the  date  June,  181 2. 

83 


TVashingtoii* s  Southern  Tour 

for  in  his  diary  he  records:  "Another  small  party  of  horse 
under  one  Simpson  met  us  at  Greensville,  and  in  spite  of 
every  endeavor  which  could  comport  with  decent  civility, 
to  excuse  myself  from  it,  they  would  attend  me  to  New- 
bern."  At  one  o'clock  on  the  20th,  the  cavalcade  was  met 
at  the  landing  of  West's  Ferry  on  the  Neuse  River  by  a 
number  of  "the  most  respectable  inhabitants"  of  New 
Berne  and  by  the  Craven  Light  Horse  under  the  com- 
mand of  Captain  Williams.  This  delegation  of  the  "prin- 
cipal Inhabitants  of  Newbern,"  as  Washington  describes 
them,  was  headed  by  John  Sitgreaves,  who  had  recently 
been  appointed  by  Washington  United  States  District 
Judge.  This  distinguished  man,  who  served  during  the 
Revolution  and  at  one  time  was  aide-de-camp  to  General 
Richard  Caswell,  afterwards  Governor  of  North  Carolina, 
had  been  Speaker  of  the  North  Carolina  House  of  Com- 
mons and  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress,  and 
actively  favored  the  ratification  of  the  Constitution  when 
it  was  rejected  by  the  Convention  which  met  at  Hills- 
borough, North  Carolina,  July  21,  1788. l 
The  delegation  from  New  Berne,  which  consisted  of 

1  John  Sitgreaves,  born  in  New  Berne,  North  Carolina,  about  1740. 
Studied  law,  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  began  practice  in  his  native 
town.  In  the  Revolution,  was  appointed  a  lieutenant  in  1776,  and  at- 
tained the  rank  of  major-general.  Represented  New  Berne  in  the  North 
Carolina  Assembly,  1786-89.  Member  of  the  Continental  Congress,  1784- 
85.  "He  was  a  clever  gentleman,"  says  G.  J.  McRee,  "and  esteemed  a 
good  lawyer."  His  wife  was  a  sister  of  the  wife  of  General  William  Richard- 
son Davie.  He  served  as  United  States  District  Attorney  for  North  Car- 
olina from  1789  until  his  death.  Upon  his  tombstone  in  Halifax  is  the  in- 
scription: "Beneath  this  stone  rest  the  remains  of  the  Hon.ble  John  Sit- 
greaves, Judge  &c.  After  spending  a  lite  of  honor  and  integrity  in  the  service 
of  his  country  he  ended  his  days  on  the  4th  of  March  1802." 

84 


North  Carolina 

John  Sitgreaves,  James  Coor,  Samuel  Chapman,  Isaac 
Guion,  Joseph  Leech,  Ben  Williams,  Dan  Carthy,  and 
William  McClure,1  received  the  President  at  the  ferry 

1  James  Coor,  Representative  of  Craven  County  in  the  North  Carolina 
House  of  Commons,  1773  (January),  1773-74,  1775;  State  Senator,  1777- 
87;  Speaker,  1786;  Member  of  the  Council  of  State,  December  20,  1776, 
(December  18)  1792,  (January  20)  1795.  Member  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons from  New  Berne,  1791.  Member  of  the  Council  of  Safety  for  New 
Berne,  May,  1776;  Commissioner  in  various  capacities:  Port  of  Beaufort 
(1781),  on  depreciation  of  currency,  on  printing  of  State  certificates  (1781), 
Port  of  New  Berne  (1776),  for  completing  fortifications  on  Neuse  River. 
Member  Provincial  Congress  from  Craven  County,  April,  1775,  August, 
1775,  April,  1776,  November,  1776.  Member  of  the  Provincial  Council  for 
New  Berne  District,  September  10,  1775;  Member  of  the  Council  of  Safety 
for  New  Berne  District,  May  II,  1776. 

Samuel  Chapman,  a  prominent  citizen  of  New  Berne.  Commissioned 
lieutenant  (November  28,  1776)  in  the  Eighth  Regiment,  North  Carolina 
Continental  Line.  Received  the  rank  of  captain,  Fourth  Regiment,  North 
Carolina  Line  (commission  dated  April  5, 1779).  In  1782  he  was  established 
in  New  Berne  as  a  merchant. 

Isaac  Guion,  member  of  the  North  Carolina  House  of  Commons  from 
New  Berne,  1789,  1790,  1793,  1795;  borough  member  from  New  Berne  in 
the  Convention  of  1788.  Member  of  the  North  Carolina  Council  of  State, 
(1779,  1780). 

Joseph  Leech,  borough  member  from  New  Berne  in  the  General  Assem- 
bly, 1760,  1 76 1,  1762  (April);  Representative  for  Craven  County,  1762 
(November);  Representative  for  Craven  County  in  the  State  Convention 
of  1788;  member  of  the  Council  of  State,  December  20,  1776;  April  18, 
1778;  May  3,  1779;  1780;  December  10,  1785;  December  18,  1786. 

Benjamin  Williams,  son  of  John  Williams  and  Ferebee  Pugh,  was  born  in 
North  Carolina,  January  1,  1752.  Pursued  classical  studies.  In  1774 
served  as  a  delegate  from  Johnston  County  in  the  first  North  Carolina 
Provincial  Congress.  Also  represented  Johnston  County  in  the  Provincial 
Congress  at  Hillsborough,  August,  1775.  Elected  (September  9,  1775) 
member  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  for  the  district  of  New  Berne.  Elected 
by  the  Provincial  Congress  (September  1,  1775)  lieutenant  in  the  Second 
North  Carolina  Regiment;  and  on  July  19,  1776,  was  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  captain.  Served  under  Washington,  and  in  campaigns  against  Lord 
Dunmore  and  Sir  Henry  Clinton.  On  July  12,  178 1,  was  elected  by  the 
North  Carolina  Assembly  colonel  commandant  of  North  Carolina  troops. 
Resigning  from  commission  as  captain  of  Continentals,  January  1, 1779,  he 
represented  Craven  County  that  year  in  the  North  Carolina  House  of 
Commons;  and  years  later  (1788)  represented  the  same  county  in  the 
House  of  Commons.    He  represented  Johnston  County  in  the  House  in 

85 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

landing  with  the  utmost  cordiality  and  respect.  The 
Mayor  of  the  Corporation  of  New  Berne,  Joseph  Leech, 
thereupon  read  to  the  President  the  following  "Address 
of  the  inhabitants  of  New-Berne": 

Sir, 

With  hearts  impressed  with  the  most  lively  emotions  of 
Love,  Esteem  and  Veneration,  We  meet  you  at  this  time  to 
express  the  joy  We  feel  in  your  visit  to  the  State  of  North 
Carolina. 

We  Sympathize  with  you  in  those  delightful  sensations, 
which  you  now  so  fully  experience  when  We  reflect  with  you 
on  our  past  difficulties  and  dangers  during  a  long  and  arduous 
War,  and  contrast  these  with  the  bright,  the  glorious  pros- 
pects which  present  themselves  —  of  our  beloved  Country's 
enjoying  in  perfect  peace,  the  inestimable  blessings  of  Civil 
and  Religious  Liberty.  Our  Souls  overflow  with  gratitude  to 
the  bountiful  Dispenser  of  all  good  Gifts,  that  He  has  com- 
mitted to  your  hands  the  reins  of  Government  in  that  Coun- 

1785  and  1789;  in  the  Senate  in  1780,  1781,  1784  (April  and  October),  and 
1786.  He  represented  Moore  County  in  the  House  of  Commons  in  1807 
and  1809.  Was  elected  to  the  Third  Congress  (March  4,  1793,  to  March  3, 
1795).  He  was  four  times  Governor  of  North  Carolina  —  from  November 
24,  1799,  until  December  6,  1802;  and  from  November  24,  1807,  until 
December  12,  1808.  He  was  married  on  August  io,  1781,  to  Elizabeth 
Jones,  half  sister  of  the  distinguished  Revolutionary  patriots  Willie  and 
Allen  Jones.   He  died  in  Moore  County,  North  Carolina,  July  20,  1814. 

Daniel  Carthy,  member  of  the  North  Carolina  House  of  Commons  from 
New  Berne,  1794,  1810,  181 1.  Agent  of  Messrs.  Royal  Flint  &  Co.,  mer- 
chants, of  New  York,  through  whom  thousands  of  pounds  of  "Public 
Tobacco"  were  sold  by  the  State.  Member  of  the  North  Carolina  Council 
of  State  (elected  November  28,  1795). 

William  McClure,  chirurgeon  to  the  Sixth  Regiment,  North  Carolina 
Provincial  troops  (April  17,  1776);  surgeon  to  the  Second  Regiment,  May  I, 
1776,  continuing  in  service  until  the  end  of  the  Revolution.  Captured  by 
the  British  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  May  12,  1780.  Member  of  the 
North  Carolina  Council  of  State  (December  10)  1785,  (December  18)  1792, 
(December  19)  1793.  Trustee  and  Director  of  the  New  Berne  Academy 
(1784);  Commissioner  on  Pension  Claims  (1785).  Invented  a  new  type  of 
boat  "calculated  to  improve  inland  navigation."  Member  of  the  State 
Senate  from  Craven  County,  1795,  1796,  1797. 

86 


North  Carolina 

try  during  peace,  of  which  you  have  been  so  lately  the  defence 
against  the  Arm  of  Despotism  and  Arbitrary  Sway.  — 

May  Almighty  God  prolong  that  Life,  which  has  been  so 
eminently  useful  to  the  Human  Race,  for  it  is  not  America 
Alone —  but  the  World  shall  learn  from  your  example  to  what  a 
stupendous  height  of  Glory,  a  Nation  may  be  elevated — whose 
freeborn  souls  are  fired  with  a  sincere  love  of  Liberty.  — 

It  is  our  most  earnest  Prayer  to  the  throne  of  Heavenly 
Grace  that  the  divine  Benediction  may  accompany  you  here 
and  hereafter. 

Because  of  the  culture  of  its  inhabitants,  New  Berne 

was  known  as  the  "Athens  of  North  Carolina."    It  was 

beautifully  situated  upon  the  River  Trent,  memorialized 

in  the  lines 

Regretful  waves,  well  may  you  weep  and  sigh 
For  this  bright  Eden  as  you  pass  it  by, 
For  wander  where  you  may,  you  ne'er  will  kiss 
A  shore  so  bright,  so  beautiful  as  this. 

In  his  diary  (April  20th)  Washington  records:  "This 
town  is  situated  at  the  confluence  of  the  Rivers  Neuse  & 
Trent,  and  though  low  is  pleasant.  Vessels  drawing  more 
than  9  feet  water  cannot  get  up  loaded.  —  It  stands  on  a 
good  deal  of  ground,  but  the  buildings  are  sparce  and  al- 
together of  Wood ;  —  some  of  which  are  large  &  look 
well  —  The  number  of  Souls  are  about  2000.  —  Its  ex- 
ports consist  of  Corn,  Tobacco,  Pork,  —  but  principally  of 
Naval  Stores  &  Lumber."  1 

1  In  his  Travels  the  Due  de  La  Rochefoucauld-Liancourt  records:  "New- 
bern  is  situated  near  the  confluence  of  the  river  Nuse  with  the  Trent,  at 
a  distance  of  one  hundred  miles  from  the  sea.  Vessels  from  one  hundred  and 
eighty  to  two  hundred  tons  burden,  sail  twelve  miles  above  Newbern,  and 
smaller  vessels  proceed  a  hundred  miles  father  up  the  river.  The  exports  of 
Newbern  were  estimated  in  1795,  at  seventy-three  thousand  six  hundred 
and  fifty-two  dollars." 

87 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

At  the  entrance  of  the  town  the  cavalcade  was  met  by 
the  New  Berne  Volunteers  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Edward  Pasteur;  and  upon  alighting  at  the  house  des- 
ignated for  his  entertainment,  the  President  was  saluted  by 
a  discharge  of  fifteen  guns  from  Captain  Stephen  Tinker's 
company  of  artillery,  and  fifteen  volleys  and  a  "feu  dejoye  " 
from  the  volunteers.  Washington  described  as  "exceed- 
ingly good  lodgings"  the  famous  John  Stanly  mansion. 
At  the  time  of  Washington's  visit  the  owner  was  John  G. 
Stanly,  who  is  said  to  have  made  a  princely  gift  of  #50,000 
or  more,  to  General  Nathanael  Greene  for  securing  sup- 
plies and  paying  the  Continental  forces  under  his  com- 
mand.1 John  Stanly,  son  of  John  G.  Stanly,  was  but  a 
lad  at  the  time  of  Washington's  visit;  he  was  afterwards 
famous  in  North  Carolina  as  legislator  and  advocate;  and 
is  thus  described  by  Stephen  Miller:  "John  Stanly  was 
foremost  (among  the  lawyers  of  Newbern)  in  age  and  nat- 
ural gifts.  His  voice  was  strong,  clear  and  musical,  and  his 
manner  peculiarly  graceful  and  dignified.  In  repartee  and 
sarcasm  I  never  saw  his  equal.  His  efforts  in  that  line  were 
absolutely  withering.  The  composure  of  no  suitor,  witness 
or  rival  advocate  could  survive  his  pungent  criticism.  Ever 
bold  and  fearless,  he  at  once  rose  to  the  breadth  of  the  oc- 
casion, always  wielding  a  polished  scimiter  with  the  energy 
of  a  giant  and  the  skill  of  an  artist."  2 

Writing  in   1894,  Charles  Hallock  says  of  the  John 

1  There  is  reason  to  believe  the  story  true  in  general  outline.  Stanly 
probably  loaned  General  Greene  a  large  sum  of  money  when  the  latter 
was  in  grave  financial  difficulties. 

2  Recollections  of  New  Bern  Fifty  Years  Ago. 


THE  JOHN  STANLY  HOUSE  IN  NEW  BERNE,  NORTH  CAROLINA 


jHt    11(1 

OF  THE 
UailfERSITY  OFIilifc^ 


North  Carolina 

Stanly  house:  "This  building  ...  is  in  excellent  repair, 
with  broad  concrete  walks  and  ornamental  grounds  stocked 
with  exotics  and  semi-tropical  plants  and  fruit  trees,  the 
blooms  of  honeysuckle,  cape  jessamins,  and  roses  mingling 
with  figs,  pomegranates  and  magnolias.  The  mansion  is  of 
wood  but,  although  much  over  a  century  old,  remains  one 
of  the  chief  architectural  ornaments  of  the  town,  with  its 
imposing  square  front  and  its  interior  decorations  rich  with 
mouldings  and  wainscoting."  l  On  the  wall  of  the  dining- 
room  in  this  house  now  hangs  a  portrait  of  one  said  to  be 
a  cousin  of  George  Washington,  John  Washington,  the 
maternal  grandfather  of  the  but  lately  deceased  occupant 
and  owner  of  the  house,  James  A.  Bryan,  Esq.  It  is  said 
that  Washington  was  delighted  with  his  entertainment, 
and  had  only  one  complaint  to  make:  that  he  had  been 
given  no  griddle-cakes  during  his  stay  in  New  Berne !  That 
evening  Washington  devoted  to  rest ;  but  the  people  cele- 
brated the  occasion  by  having  the  town  "elegantly  illu- 
minated." 

During  the  forenoon  of  the  next  day,  the  President 
walked  about  the  town,  accompanied  it  is  believed  by 
Richard  Dobbs  Spaight,2  John  Sitgreaves,  Francois-Xav- 

1  "  President  Washington  in  Newbern,"  in  The  Southern  States,  May, 
1894. 

2  Richard  Dobbs  Spaight,  born  New  Berne,  North  Carolina,  March  25, 
1758;  died  there  September  6,  1802.  Was  educated  at  the  University  of 
Glasgow.  For  a  time  served  as  aide-de-camp  to  General  Richard  Caswell 
during  the  Revolution.  Was  in  the  North  Carolina  Assembly  in  1781, 
1782,  1783,  1785,  1786,  1787,  1792,  1801.  Was  appointed  by  Governor 
Alexander  Martin  delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress  in  place  of  William 
Blount,  who  resigned  April  25,  1783.  Elected  delegate  to  Continental  Con- 
gress in  1784;  and  reelected  for  year  beginning  November,  1785.  Delegate 
to  the  Philadelphia  Convention  of  1787,  and  signed  the  Constitution. 

89 


Washington's  Southern  Ton?" 

ier  Martin,1  Joseph  Leech,  Isaac  Guion,  Samuel  Chap- 
man, and  perhaps  others,  viewing  the  many  beauties  of 
the  place,  hearing  the  story  of  Governor  William  Tryon's 
extravagance  in  the  erection  of  the  Palace,  which  helped 
precipitate  the  War  of  the  Regulators,  and  perhaps  — 
who  knows  ?  —  listening  to  fanciful  tales  of  the  fascinating 
Esther  Wake,  who  some  now  say  was  only  a  mythical 
miss!  At  four  o'clock  that  afternoon  he  dined  with  the 
citizens  at  a  public  dinner  at  the  Palace  —  which  Wash- 
ington describes  as  "the  Government  House  and  a  good 
brick  building  but  now  hastening  to  Ruins."  It  was  pro- 
nounced "superior  to  anything  of  the  kind  in  British 
North  America"  by  the  historian,  F.  X.  Martin,  who  said 
that  the  unfortunate  Don  Francisco  Miranda,  when  visit- 
ing it  in  his  company,  declared  it  had  no  equal  in  South 
America.  A  pediment  at  the  front  bore  the  arms  of  Great 
Britain ;  and  the  rear  of  the  building  was  finished  in  the 
style  of  the  Mansion-House  in  London.  Over  the  inner 
door  of  the  entrance  hall  or  antechamber,  was  a  tablet 
with  a  Latin  inscription,  showing  that  the  Palace  was  dedi- 
cated to  Sir  William  Draper,  "the  conqueror  of  Manilla," 
and  also  some  verses  in  Latin  of  which  F.  X.  Martin  gives 
the  following  free  translation: 

In  the  reign  of  a  monarch,  who  goodness  disclos'd, 
A  free  happy  people,  to  dread  tyrants  oppos'd, 

Elected  Governor  of  North  Carolina  in  1792;  and  served  in  Congress 
1798-1801.    Killed  in  a  duel  with  John  Stanly  on  September  5,  1802. 

1  For  a  sketch  of  Martin  consult  Biographical  History  of  North  Carolina, 
IV.  The  contemporary  accounts  do  not  confirm  the  statement  therein 
made  that  he  was  a  member  of"  the  committee  to  receive  General  Wash- 
ington on  his  visit  in  1791 ." 

90 


North  Carolina 

Have,  to  virtue  and  merit,  erected  this  dome; 
May  the  owner  and  household  make  this  the  loved  home, 
Where  religion,  the  arts  and  the  laws  may  invite 
Future  ages  to  live  in  sweet  peace  and  delight.1 

Although  externally  much  out  of  repair,  it  was  peculiarly 
fitted  by  historic  association  and  original  elegance  to  en- 
tertain the  great  Washington.  The  following  toasts  were 
drunk  —  with  a  will,  and  doubtless  with  true  gustatory  ap- 
preciation —  each  toast  being  announced  by  a  discharge  of 
cannon : 

1.  The  United  States. 

2.  The  late  Congress. 

3.  The  State  of  North  Carolina  —  given  by  the  President 
and  greeted  with  stentorian  cheers. 

4.  The  Patriots  of  America  who  fell  in  her  defence. 

5.  The  late  American  army. 

6.  The  King  of  France. 

7.  The  National  Assembly. 

8.  The  memory  of  Dr.  Franklin. 

9.  The  Sieur  de  la  Fayette. 

10.  The  commerce  of  the  United  States. 

11.  The  friends  of  America  in  every  part  of  the  world. 
11.  The  agricultural  interests  of  the  United  States. 

13.  The  Nations  in  alliance  with  us. 

14.  Universal  peace  and  liberty. 

After  the  President  had  withdrawn,  the  fifteenth  and 
final  toast  of  the  evening  was  drunk  with  all  the  company 
standing: 

The  President  of  the  United  States2 
Probably  at  this  juncture  the  President's  aide,  Major 

1  For  a  full  description  of  the  Palace,  consult  B.  J.  Lossing:  Pictorial 
Field  Book  of  the  Revolution,  vol.  22,  p.  364,  second  edition. 

2  A  printed  programme  of  the  occasion,  containing  these  toasts,  was  long 
in  the  possession  of  Mrs.  Henry  R.  Bryan,  of  New  Berne. 

91 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

Jackson,  read  to  the  assembled  company,  who  certainly 
received  its  sentiments  with  expressions  of  undisguised 
satisfaction,  Washington's  fervent  reply  to  the  address 
which  had  been  delivered  to  him  at  West's  Ferry  on  the 
preceding  day: 

To  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  New  Bern. 
Gentlemen: 

I  express  with  real  pleasure  the  grateful  sentiments  which 
your  address  inspires.  I  am  much  indebted,  in  ever  personal 
regard,  to  the  polite  attentions  of  the  inhabitants  of  New 
Bern,  nor  am  I  less  gratified  by  the  patriotic  declarations 
on  the  situation  of  our  common  country.  Pleasing  indeed  is 
the  comparison  which  a  retrospect  of  the  past  scenes  affords 
with  our  present  happy  condition  —  and  equally  so  is  the 
anticipation  of  what  we  may  still  attain,  and  long  continue 
to  enjoy.  A  bountiful  Providence  has  blest  us  with  all  the 
means  of  national  and  domestic  happiness;  to  our  own  virtue 
and  wisdom  we  are  referred  for  their  improvement  and  re- 
alization. 

That  the  town  of  New  Bern  may  eminently  participate  in 
the  general  prosperity,  and  its  inhabitants  be  individually 
happy,  is  my  sincere  wish. 

G.  Washington.1 

At  New  Berne  was  one  of  the  most  active  Masonic 
Lodges  in  North  Carolina,  St.  John's  No.  2.  It  was 
founded  by  a  distinguished  citizen  of  Rhode  Island,  who 
had  emigrated  to  the  colony  and  established  himself  on  his 
country  estate,  "Richmond,"  near  New  Berne  —  Martin 
Howard,  North  Carolina's  first  Chief  Justice.  This  lodge 

1  To  John  G.  Stanly,  Esq.,  at  whose  house  Washington  was  entertained, 
he  presented  the  original  of  this  letter.  It  was  printed  in  a  New  Berne 
newspaper  edited  by  the  Honorable  C.  C.  Clark  prior  to  the  War  between 
the  States.  It  is  found  in  Vass:  The  Presbyterian  Church  in  Newbern, 
North  Carolina. 

92 


WASHINGTON  AS  A  MASON 
Engraving  by  A.  B.  Walter 


THE  IIBRARV 

OF  [HE 

MMVEWITY  or  liimiOIS 


North  Carolina 

was  instituted  on  January  n,  1772,  the  charter  being  pre- 
sented by  Joseph  Montfort,  of  Halifax,  North  Carolina 
"provincial  Grand  Master  of  and  for  America."  Some  of 
the  earlier  meetings  of  St.  John's  Lodge  were  held  in  the 
Palace.1  This  lodge  afterwards  built  a  two-storey  theatre 
and  Masonic  Hall.  When  news  of  Washington's  contem- 
plated visit  reached  New  Berne,  the  brethren  of  St.  John's 
Lodge,  No.  2,  at  the  stated  meeting  held  on  April  1, 1791, 
passed  the  following  resolution : "  Resolved,  that  an  address 
shall  be  presented  to  Brother  George  Washington,  in 
behalf  of  this  Lodge,  on  his  arriving  in  this  town."  2 

During  the  afternoon  of  April  20th,  after  the  President 
had  returned  to  his  lodgings,  he  was  waited  upon  by  a 
committee  from  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  2,  headed  by  the 
Master,  Isaac  Guion,  who  read  to  him  the  following  ad- 
dress: 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 
Right  Worshipful  Sir, 

We  the  Master,  Officers,  and  Members  of  St.  John's  Lodge 
No.  2,  of  Newbern,  beg  leave  to  hail  you  welcome  with  three 
times  three. 

We  approach  you  not  with  the  language  of  adulation,  but 
sincere  fraternal  affection  —  your  works  having  proved  you 
to  be  the  true  and  faithful  brother,  the  skilful  and  expert 
Craftsman,  the  just  and  upright  man.    But  the  powers  of 

1  In  his  Beginnings  of  Freemasonry  in  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee, 
Haywood  says:  "Among  the  many  crimes  charged  against  the  dark,  dan- 
gerous and  unscrupulous  Masons  of  those  old  days,  was  the  burning  of  this 
building  in  1798,  when  they  learned  that  the  State  intended  to  sell  it; 
though,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  conflagration  was  caused  by  an  old  negro 
woman  with  a  lightwood  torch  hunting  for  eggs  among  the  rubbish  in  the 
basement." 

2  Minutes  of  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  2,  still  preserved  at  New  Berne. 

93 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

eloquence  are  too  feeble  to  express  with  sufficient  energy 
the  cordial  warmth  with  which  our  bosoms  glow  toward 
you. 

We  therefore  most  ardently  wish,  most  fervently  and 
devoutly  pray  That  the  Providence  of  the  most  high  may 
strengthen,  establish,  and  protect  you,  in  your  walk  through 
this  life;  and  when  you  shall  be  called  off  from  your  terrestrial 
labours  by  command  of  our  divine  grand  master,  and  your 
operations  sealed  with  the  mark  of  his  approbation,  may 
your  soul  be  eternally  refreshed  with  the  streams  of  living 
water  which  flow  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  and  when  the 
supreme  architect  of  all  worlds  shall  collect  his  most  precious 
jewels  as  ornaments  of  the  celestial  Jerusalem,  may  you  ever- 
lastingly shine  among  those  of  the  brightest  lustre. 

We  are  in  our  own  behalf,  and  that  of  the  Members  of  this 
Lodge, 

Right  Worshipful  Sir, 

Your  true  and  faithful  brethren 
Isaac  Guion  Master 
Samuel  Chapman  Senior  Warden 
William  Johnston  Junior  Warden 
Solomon  Halling, 
Edw.  Pasteur, 
Jas.  Carney, 
F.  Lowthorp 

Members  of  the  Committee.1 
St.  John's  Lodge  No  2. 
April  20th,  5791 

The  President  made  the  following  reply  to  the  breth- 
ren of  St.  John's  Lodge : 

1  Isaac  Guion,  Samuel  Chapman,  William  Johnston,  and  Solomon 
Hailing  had  all  seen  service  in  the  Continental  Army  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary War.  Guion  served  as  Surgeon  and  Paymaster;  Chapman,  Captain 
in  the  8th  North  Carolina,  served  until  the  close  of  the  war;  Johnston, 
Captain  in  the  North  Carolina  Militia,  fought  at  King's  Mountain;  Hall- 
ing, Surgeon  of  the  4th  North  Carolina  Regiment,  served  until  the  close  of 
the  war. 

94 


North  Caroli?ia 

To  the  Master,  Wardens,  and  Members  of  St.  John's  Lodge 

No.  2  of  Newbern. 
Gentlemen, 

I  receive  the  cordial  welcome  which  you  are  pleased  to 
give  me  with  sincere  gratitude. 

My  best  ambition  having  ever  aimed  at  the  unbiassed 
approbation  of  my  fellow-citizens,  it  is  peculiarly  pleasing  to 
find  my  conduct  so  affectionately  approved  by  a  fraternity 
whose  association  is  founded  in  justice  and  benevolence. 

In  reciprocating  the  wishes  contained  in  your  address,  be 
persuaded  that  I  offer  a  sincere  prayer  for  your  present  and 
future  happiness. 

G.  Washington.! 

That  evening  (21st)  Washington  attended  a  magnificent 
ball  given  in  his  honor  at  the  Palace.2  The  dancing  doubt- 

1  "At  the  following  Meeting  of  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  2,  April  27,  1791, 
the  Master  laid  before  the  Lodge  the  answer  of  Brother  George  Washington 
and  ordered  that  it  be  read,  which  being  done,  Resolved  that  it  be  entered  on 
Minutes  of  this  Lodge."  The  above  entry  stands  on  the  original  Minutes. 
Both  the  address  to  Washington  and  his  reply  are  recorded  on  the  Minutes 
of  the  Lodge.  The  original  of  Washington's  reply  cannot  now  be  found  — 
and  probably  disappeared  during  the  War  between  the  States.  Consult 
Washington's  Masonic  Correspondence ;  by  J.  F.  Sachse  (Philadelphia,  191 5). 

On  January  18,  1922,  was  held  at  New  Berne  the  one  hundred  and  fif- 
tieth anniversary  of  the  founding  of  St.  John's  Lodge  No.  2.  Elaborate 
ceremonies  were  carried  out  including  a  pageant  in  which  the  reading  of 
Guion's  address  and  Washington's  reply  constituted  the  chief  feature. 
The  part  of  Isaac  Guion  was  taken  by  his  great-grandson,  Judge  Owen  H. 
Guion;  that  of  Washington  by  Colonel  P.  M.  Pearsall;  and  that  of  the 
Mayor,  Joseph  Leech,  by  the  late  Samuel  M.  Brinson,  Member  of  Con- 
gress.    (See  the  Charlotte  Observer,  January  19,  1922.) 

2  On  April  24,  1891,  the  original  occasion  was  reproduced  at  a  centennial 
ball  in  New  Berne  —  "the  invitation  cards  and  others  of  dancing  being  in 
facsimile,  and  even  some  of  the  identical  dresses  being  worn  which  appeared 
in  the  previous  century.  General  Washington  and  Lady  Washington  were 
personated  by  Mr.  W.  P.  M.  Bryan  and  Miss  Mary  T.  Oliver,  and  sixteen 
leading  citizens  represented  the  republican  court.  The  ceremonies  took 
place  in  the  spacious  hall  of  the  new  courthouse,  which  was  tastefully 
decorated  with  flowers,  flags,  and  evergreens.  After  a  few  appropriate 
introductory  remarks  from  Mayor  (Genl.)  Battle,  the  ladies  and  gentlemen 
of  the  court,  in  costumes  of  'ye  olden  times,'  were  ushered  into  the  room 

95 


Washington' s  Southern  Tour 

less  took  place  in  the  Council  Chamber  which  contained 
handsome  decorations,  the  chimney-piece  being  orna- 
mented by  Ionic  columns  below,  four  columns  with  com- 
posite capitals  above,  with  beautiful  entablature,  archi- 
trave, and  frieze.  Above  the  whole  were  richly  ornamental 
marble  tablets,  on  which  were  medallions  of  King  George 
and  his  Queen.  White  marble  was  freely  used  in  the  dec- 
oration of  the  Council  Chamber,  dining  hall,  and  drawing- 
room.1  Some  sixteen  thousand  five  hundred  pounds  was 
expended  upon  the  building;  and  the  passage  of  the  bill  for 
the  erection  of  the  Governor's  Palace  in  1766  has  been  at- 
tributed to  the  influence  with  the  members  of  the  Colonial 
Assembly  of  the  beautiful  and  fascinating  Esther  Wake, 
Governor  Tryon's  sister-in-law.  The  author  of  "The  De- 
fense of  North  Carolina"  therein  first  tells  this  strange 
story,  which  appears  to  be  confirmed  by  a  manuscript  re- 
cently discovered,  in  which  Jones  says  of  Esther  Wake: 
"She  was  ambitious  enough  to  desire  magnificent  parlours 
and  boudoirs,  wherein  to  receive  the  homage  of  her  numer- 

and  took  positions  on  either  side  of  the  dais,  General  and  Lady  Washing- 
ton followed  and  took  places  on  the  platform,  the  latter  in  magnificent 
attire.  Under  strains  of  sweet  music  from  the  Italian  band  the  courtiers 
formally  presented  themselves  and  were  received  in  the  most  dignified  and 
courtly  manner  after  the  approved  regime.  Then  the  court  minuet  was 
danced  by  ten  couples  of  the  city's  elite.  The  'Star  Spangled  Banner*  and 
'The  Old  North  State'  were  sung  by  thirty  trained  voices;  a  solo  followed, 
and  then  a  flower  dance  by  young  ladies  in  fairy  costumes,  each  bearing  a 
colored  lantern  and  a  basket  of  flowers.  Supper  ensued;  and  the  novel 
affair  concluded  with  the  'Old  Virginia  Reel'  in  which  nearly  everyone 
present  participated.  The  occasion  was  most  enjoyable  and  the  renaissance 
instructive  and  impressive."  (From  "President  Washington  in  Newbern," 
by  Charles  Hallock,  The  Southern  States,  May,  1894.) 

1  Cf.  M.  de  L.  Haywood:  Governor  William  Try  on  (Raleigh,  1903);  B.  J. 
Lossing:  Pictorial  Field  Book  0/  the  American  Revolution;  Colonial  Records 
of  North  Carolina,  vm,  7-8. 

96 


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limits 


North  Carolina 

ous  admirers.  . .  .  The  heavy  taxes  levied  to  complete  the 
edifice  [the  Palace]  contributed  to  inflame  the  rebellion  of 
the  Regulators,  and  was  more  than  any  other  cause  the 
immediate  inducement  of  the  famous  battle  of  Alamance 
on  the  16th  of  May,  1771. ...  It  is  gratifying  to  discover 
the  secret  source  of  power,  even  in  the  volition  of  a  virtu- 
ous woman."  And  he  makes  the  following  quotations 
from  two  alleged  letters  —  the  one  by  Colonel  John  Harvey 
(January  20,  1771) :  "What  can  be  said  in  defense  of  those 
Gentlemen  of  age  and  experience  who  to  gratify  a  Gov- 
ernor's wife  and  to  be  sure  her  pretty  sister  should  vote 
fifteen  or  twenty  thousand  pounds  to  build  a  palace,  when 
the  people  were  not  able  to  pay  even  their  most  ordinary 
taxes,  and  what  is  still  worse,  then  go  to  war  with  their 
countrymen,  to  enforce  the  unjust  law";  the  other  from 
Isaac  Edwards,  the  private  Secretary  of  Tryon,  to  Judge 
John  Williams  (November  6,  1770):  "The  Palace  is  fin- 
ished, and  we  are  in  it.  The  Governor  is  much  pleased  with 
it  and  the  ladies  are  now  ready  to  give  entertainments  in  a 
state  suitable  to  their  rank  and  deserts.  Miss  Wake  is  in 
fine  humour  and  is  every  day  planning  her  party.  She  has 
a  complete  set  of  new  and  splendid  robes  just  from  home, 
and  when  she  gets  them  on,  and  gets  the  young  assembly- 
men in  the  big  parlor,  she  can  get  a  grant  of  money  to 
build  another  house  for  herself."  1  At  the  brilliant  recep- 

1  Manuscript  enclosed  in  a  letter  from  Joseph  Seawell  Jones  to  William 
A.  Graham,  New  Berne,  February  28,  1836  —  now  in  the  archives  of  the 
North  Carolina  Historical  Commission.  Little  faith  is  reposed  in  the 
statements  of  Jones  by  some  historians  —  Haywood,  for  example,  contend- 
ing that  this  "rare  and  radiant  maiden,"  Esther  Wake,  was  none  other 

97 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

tion  to  Washington,  conversation  doubtless  turned  to  the 
famous  balls  given  there  by  Governor  Tryon  and  his  wife, 
in  this  "palace  worthy  the  residence  of  a  prince  of  the 
blood."  The  Governor's  assumption  of  royal  style,  against 
which  "Atticus,"  who  was  reputed  to  be  Judge  Maurice 
Moore,  turned  the  full  volume  of  his  attack,  brought 
against  Tryon  this  charge:  "Your  solicitude  about  the 
title  of  Her  Excellency  for  Mrs.  Tryon  and  the  arrogant  re- 
ception you  gave  to  a  respectable  company  at  an  enter- 
tainment of  your  own  making,  seated  with  your  lady  by 
your  side  on  elbow-chairs  in  the  middle  of  the  ball-room, 
bespeak  a  littleness  of  mind  which,  believe  me,  Sir,  when 
blended  with  the  dignity  and  importance  of  your  office, 
render  you  truly  ridiculous."  x  What  changes  had  been 
wrought  in  human  affairs  since  the  scene  thus  described,  in 
that  same  ballroom!  How  solemnly  must  Washington 
have  reflected  upon  the  mutations  of  destiny  under  which 
the  aristocratic  Tryon,  the  Royal  Governor,  had  been 
driven  from  this  very  Palace  and  where  now  the  highest 
honors  were  being  paid  to  that  man,  "arch  rebel  and 
traitor"  to  his  King,  who  had  driven  the  forces  of  that 
monarch  to  humiliating  defeat  and  disgraceful  surrender! 
In  Tryon's  office  in  the  Palace  were  now  stabled  the  horses 
of  Washington ! 

than  a  "creature  of  fancy,  brought  forth  from  the  realms  of  Fairyland  by 
the  pen  of  a  sentimental  writer." 

For  references  consult  Haywood's  Tryon,  pp.  74-76;  Lossing's  Field 
Book  of  the  Revolution;  Connor's  "Was  Esther  Wake  a  Myth?"  in  North 
Carolina  Booklet,  xiv,  4. 

1  For  the  "Atticus"  letter,  consult  Waddell:  A  Colonial  Officer  and  his 
Times  (Raleigh,  1890). 

98 


North  Carolina 

In  the  spacious  Council  Chamber  of  the  Royal  Gover- 
nor's Palace,  Washington  himself  was  the  central,  majestic 
figure.  Clad  in  black  velvet  with  gold  buckles  at  the  knee 
and  on  his  shoes,  he  held  in  his  hand  a  cocked  hat  with  a 
cockade  in  it,  the  edges  adorned  with  a  black  feather.  His 
hair,  profusely  powdered,  was  gathered  behind  in  a  black 
silk  bag.  At  his  left  hip  hung  a  long,  slender  sword,  with 
finely  wrought  steel  hilt,  in  a  scabbard  of  white  polished 
leather.  He  wore  yellow  gloves;  and,  contrary  to  his  habit 
at  his  own  receptions,  he  graciously  greeted  with  a  clasp  of 
the  hand  those  who  were  presented  to  him. 

Prominent  on  this  occasion  was  Richard  Dobbs  Spaight,1 
who  had  been  present  in  the  Continental  Congress  at  An- 
napolis on  December  13,  1783,  when  General  Washington 
tendered  his  resignation  as  Commander-in-Chief;  and  had 
also  attended  as  delegate  the  Convention  at  Philadelphia, 
May  14,  1787,  and  affixed  his  signature  to  the  Constitu- 
tion. On  the  year  following  Washington's  visit  to  New 
Berne,  he  was  elected  Governor  of  North  Carolina.  At  the 
reception,  Mrs.  Spaight  assisted  the  President  in  receiving 
the  guests,  and  danced  the  first  minuet  with  the  stately 
Virginian.    Some  verses  may  summon  for  us  the  scene: 

Hail  to  the  chief!   'Gainst  armed  foes 
No  more  shall  serried  ranks  advance: 

In  'broidered  doublet,  silken  hose, 
Our  Washington  doth  lead  the  dance. 

1  Some  years  later  Spaight  and  the  younger  John  Stanly  fought  a  duel 
in  which  the  former  was  mortally  wounded.  Consult  John  H.  Wheeler: 
History  of  North  Carolina;  also  Reminiscences.  Consult  also  Wheeler: 
Richard  Dobbs  Spaight. 

99 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

The  oaths  are  said,  the  seals  are  set, 
The  bugle's  song  is  tuned  to  mirth; 

Grave  Valor  hath  with  Beauty  met 
To  celebrate  a  nation's  birth. 


"What  homage  shall  a  subject  pay, 

What  can  a  loyal  heart  afford, 
To  him  whom  millions  name  to-day 

Their  Country's  Father  and  their  lord?" 
Still  stepping  as  the  music  leads, 

The  stately  Washington  replies, 
"The  guerdon  of  man's  bravest  deeds 

Is  ever  found  in  woman's  eyes." 

The  lady's  answering  smile  is  bright. 

The  dance  goes  on.   How  fair  the  scene! 
Earth  scarce  hath  known  a  happier  night, 

For  day  hath  never  dawned,  I  ween, 
That  left  such  blessings  in  its  track. 

How  well  we  love  through  fancy's  power 
To  bring  the  glittering  pageant  back 

To  us  in  this  centennial  hour!  l 

We  may  be  sure  that  Washington  also  danced  with  the 
young  lady  who  had  accompanied  him  to  New  Berne,  es- 
pecially to  attend  the  grand  ball.  According  to  Washington 
"abt.  70  ladies  were  present" ;  and  if  he  paid  full  tribute  to 
the  goddess  Terpsichore,  he  was  more  sorely  taxed  than  on 
many  a  battle-field  —  although  it  is  of  record  that  he  with- 
drew at  eleven  o'clock,  while  the  festivities  were  at  their 
very  height. 

Before  retiring  that  night,  Washington  made  the  follow- 
ing entry  in  his  diary: 

1  From  "Washington  Leading  the  Minuet,"  by  Mary  E.  Vandyne. 

IOO 


North  Carolina 

This  town  by  Water  is  about  70  miles  from  the  Sea  —  but 
in  a  direct  line  to  the  entrance  of  the  River  not  over  35  — 
and  to  the  nearest  Seaboard  not  more  than  20,  or  25.  — 
Upon  the  River  Neuse,  &  80  miles  above  Newbern,  the  Con- 
vention of  the  State  that  adopted  the  federal  Constitution 
made  choice  of  a  spot,  or  rather  district  within  which  to  fix 
their  Seat  of  Government;  but  it  being  lower  than  the  back 
Members  (of  the  Assembly)  who  hitherto  have  been  most 
numerous  inclined  to  have  it  they  have  found  means  to  ob- 
struct the  measure  —  but  since  the  Cession  of  their  Western 
territory  it  is  supposed  that  the  matter  will  be  revived  to  good 
effect. 

On  Friday,  22d,  the  President  recommenced  his  journey 
—  being  escorted  by  the  Craven  Light  Horse  and  "many 
of  the  principal  Gentlemen  of  Newbern"  for  some  miles 
from  the  town.  His  departure  was  signalized  by  a  dis- 
charge of  guns,  doubtless  by  Captain  Stephen  Tinker's 
company  of  artillery.  Washington  records  that  he  "dined 
at  a  place  called  Trenton  which  is  the  head  of  the  boat  nav- 
igation of  the  River  Trent,  which  is  crossed  at  this  place  on 
a  bridge  —  and  lodged  at  one  Shrine's  10  m.  farther  — 
both  indifferent  Houses."  At  Trenton  he  was  cordially 
greeted  by  his  Masonic  brethren  of  King  Solomon's  Lodge, 
who  presented  to  him  the  following  address: 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America 
Sir 

Impressed  with  the  purest  Sentiments  of  Gratitude  & 
Brotherly  love,  Permit  us  the  Members  of  King  Solomons 
Lodge  at  Trenton  North  Carolina  (now  in  Lodge  Assembled) 
to  Hail  you  Welcome  to  this  State,  &  Salute  you  as  a  Brother 

We  should  feel  ourselves  remiss  in  our  Duty  were  we  not  to 
Congratulate  you  on  your  Appointment  to  the  Head  of  the 
Executive  department  of  the  United  States  — 

101 


Washington* 's  Southern  Tour 

That  the  Great  Architect  of  the  Universe  may  long  pre- 
serve your  invaluable  life  to  preside  over  a  great  &  free 
People  &  to  the  Advancement  of  the  United  States  in  Op- 
ulence, order  &  Felicity,  is  the  sincere  wish  of  the  Members 
of  this  Lodge  — 

By  Order  of  the  Lodge 

Wm.  T.  Gardner  Secy.1 
April  22d  AL  5791 

Quite  the  most  meagre  entry  for  any  day  of  his  tour  is 
that  for  Saturday,  23d.  How  Washington  must  have  en- 
joyed the  rest  —  the  refuge  from  incessant  congratulation, 
from  the  necessity  for  playing  up  to  a  great  and  solemn 
part,  from  the  dust  of  enthusiastic  and  persistent  escorts! 
On  a  day  like  this,  he  probably  carefully  read  the  des- 
patches from  the  seat  of  government  which  reached  him 
at  stages  of  his  journey  and  pondered  over  weighty  matters 
of  governmental  policy.  Yet  even  in  so  dry  and  meaning- 
less an  entry,  one  with  imagination  can  fancy  the  thrill  of 
excitement  and  the  sense  of  importance  which  agitated  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  the  families  of  "one  Everet,"  "Mr. 
Foy,"  and  "one  Sage."  The  exiguous  entry  for  the  23d  is 
only  this: 

Breakfasted  at  one  Everets  12  miles  bated  at  a  Mr.  Foy's 
12  miles  farther  and  lodged  at  one  Sage's  20  miles  beyd. 
it  —  all  indifferent  Houses. 

1  See  Washington  MSS.,  Letter  Books,  in  Library  of  Congress. 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  THIRD  STAGE 

Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  and  Georgetown,  South  Carolina 

THE  Southern  tour  took  place  long  before  the  birth 
of  the  Associated  Press.  But  the  newspapers  of 
America  in  1791  eagerly  copied  from  each  other  long  and 
elaborate  accounts  of  the  ceremonies  accompanying  Wash- 
ington's spectacular  passage  at  every  stage  of  the  journey. 
Essays  on  the  character  of  Washington  and  poems  written 
in  honor  of  his  arrival  at  some  particular  city  reached  a 
truly  national  audience.  Particularly  popular  was  the 
poem  entitled  "An  Imitation"  —  being  composed  "On 
the  Reception  of  the  President  at  the  several  Towns  and 
Villages,  &c.  in  his  Tour  to  the  South." 

An  IMITATION. 
All  tongues  speak  of  him;  aged  sights 
Are  spectacled  to  see  him;  the  prattling  nurse 
Into  a  rapture  lets  her  baby  cry, 
While  she  views  him;  the  rustic  lasses  pin 
Their  richest  geer  around  their  sun-burnt  necks, 
Clambering  the  walls  to  eye  him:  stalls,  trees,  windows, 
Are  smother'd  up;  housetops  &  ridges  fill'd 
With  various  ranks  of  men,  all  agreeing 
In  earnestness  to  see  him  —  old  senators 
Do  press  among  the  popular  throng,  &  puff 
To  win  a  vulgar  station;  beauteous  dames 
Commit  the  war  of  white  &  damask,  in 
Their  nicely  gauded  cheeks,  to  the  wanton  spoil 
Of  Phoebus'  burning  kisses.     Such  joyful  shouts, 
As  if  the  very  DEITY  who  guides  him 
Were  crept  into  his  human  powers 
To  give  him  grace  and  honor ! 
103 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

Making  an  early  start  on  Sunday,  the  24th,  Washington 
breakfasted  "at  an  indifferent  house  about  13  miles  from 
Sage's."  The  house,  and  perhaps  the  entertainment,  was 
so  indifferent,  we  presume,  that  the  President  does  not 
even  mention  the  owner's  name  —  who  thus  lost  perhaps 
his  one  and  only  chance  to  have  his  name  go  down  to  pos- 
terity. On  Saturday,  authentic  information  reached  Wil- 
mington of  the  President's  approach,  and  the  necessary 
preparations  were  made  for  his  coming.  So,  three  miles  be- 
yond the  aforesaid  indifferent  house,  at  a  place  called  the 
Rouse  House,  Washington  was  met  by  a  party  of  Light 
Horse  from  Wilmington  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Henry  Toomer.1  At  the  Rouse  House,  during  the  Revolu- 
tion, was  fought  a  sanguinary  engagement  between  Brit- 
ish and  Americans,  the  British  General  Craig  giving  no 
quarter  and  massacring  the  patriots  with  the  exception  of 
a  boy  who  escaped. 

1  Henry  Toomer  was  probably  of  the  Welsh  emigrant  colony  from 
Pennsylvania  and  Delaware  in  1735-37  and  subsequently,  to  which  the 
State  of  South  Carolina  made  a  grant  of  173,840  acres  along  the  Peedee 
River.  They  were  Baptists.  For  generations  the  Toomers  were  prominent 
in  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  Joshua  Toomer  and  his  son  Henry  settled 
in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in  1693.  This  Henry's  son,  Joshua,  with 
Joshua's  son,  Henry  (the  "Captain"  here  mentioned),  removed  to  Wil- 
mington, North  Carolina.  Henry  Toomer  was  one  of  the  Gentlemen  of 
Wilmington  who  signed  the  paper  addressed  to  the  Royal  Governor  Wil- 
liam Tryon  (July  28,  1766),  which  affirmed  that  "Moderation  ceases  to  be 
a  Virtue  when  the  liberty  of  British  Subjects  is  in  danger."  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Wilmington  Committee  of  Safety  (elected  July  6,  1775);  and 
was  appointed  commissary  to  a  detachment  of  militia  from  the  Halifax 
Brigade,  under  Brigadier-General  Ashe.  He  was  appointed  by  the  North 
Carolina  Legislature  as  Commissioner  on  Navigation  of  Cape  Fear  River 
(1778),  and  commissioner  to  repair  Fort  Johnston  (1778).  He  was  married 
three  times,  his  third  wife  being  Magdalene  Mary  de  Rosset.  Consult 
Catherine  de  Rosset  Meares:  Annals  of  the  de  Rosset  Family  (Columbia, 
S.C.,  1906). 

IO4 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON   ESQ. 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 

Engraving  by  Edward  Savage  after  the  portrait  painted  by  him  for 

Harvard  College 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

uawE«sin  of  i!  UMots 


Wilmington  and  Georgetown 

At  a  distance  of  some  six  miles  from  Wilmington,  the 
President  was  met  by  a  committee  of  prominent  citizens 
and  in  addition  by  a  large  number  of  the  "Gentlemen  of 
the  Town"  —  among  whom  doubtless  were  gentlemen 
bearing  such  names  as  de  Rosset,  Ashe,  Moore,  Wright, 
Iredell,  Lord,  Johnson,  Walker,  Waddell,  and  Lilling- 
ton. 

Alighting  from  his  coach,  Washington  received  the  greet- 
ings of  the  committee  and  other  gentlemen;  and  then, 
mounting  one  of  his  horses,  was  escorted  into  town  in  the 
following  order: 

Four  dragoons  from  the  horse  with  a  trumpet 

The  President  and  his  aide-de-camp,  Major  Jackson 

The  High  Sheriff  of  New  Hanover  County 

with  the  Committee  appointed  to  attend  on  the  President 

during  his  stay 

The  troop  of  Light  Horse 

The  Gentlemen  of  the  Town 

The  President's  equipage  and  attendants. 

On  reaching  Wilmington,  about  two  o'clock,  the  Wil- 
mington Artillery  Company,  under  the  command  of  Cap- 
tain Huske,1  which  had  previously  paraded,  now  gave  a 

1  John  Huske,  said  to  have  been  born  in  Hull,  England,  emigrated  to 
North  Carolina  prior  to  the  American  Revolution.  He  was  private  secre- 
tary to  Governor  Thomas  Burke  of  North  Carolina;  and  was  captured 
along  with  him,  by  the  Tory  leader  David  Fanning,  and  conveyed  to  Wil- 
mington. He  was  a  confirmed  Republican,  and  actively  opposed  the  rati- 
fication of  the  Constitution.  For  some  years  he  was  clerk  of  the  Superior 
Court  at  Wilmington.  He  was  elected  member  from  New  Hanover  County 
in  the  State  Conventions  of  1788  and  1789.  He  was  married  in  1784  to 
Miss  Elizabeth  Hogg,  of  Hillsborough,  daughter  of  James  and  McDowal 

I05 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

triple  "federal  salute"  —  three  discharges  of  fifteen  guns 
each.  Over  the  saluting  battery  floated  the  flag  of  the 
United  States.  "The  President  was  then  conducted  in  the 
same  order,"  says  a  contemporary  print,  "to  the  house 
provided  for  his  reception,  through  an  astonishing  con- 
course of  people  of  the  town  and  country,  whom,  as  well 
as  the  ladies  that  filled  the  windows  and  balconies  of  the 
houses,  he  saluted  with  his  usual  affability  and  conde- 
scension. Upon  his  alighting,  the  acclamations  were  loud 
and  universal.  The  ships  in  the  harbour,  all  ornamented 
with  their  colours,  added  much  to  the  beauty  of  the  scene." 
Thus  was  Washington  escorted  into  town,  and  to  the 
"very  good  lodgings"  prepared  for  him  —  the  tavern 
kept  by  a  Masonic  brother  of  the  President,  Lawrence 
A.  Dorsey.  At  this  famous  hostelry,  known  as  Dorsey's 
Tavern,1  where  public  banquets  were  frequently  served, 
the  Masonic  brethren  were  in  the  habit  of  occasionally 
gathering  around  the  festive  board;  and  on  one  historic 
occasion  both  the  local  lodges,  St.  Tammany  and  St.  John, 
"proceeded  to  Brother  Dorsey's,  where  a  lecture  was  de- 
livered by  Brother  Hailing  and  the  lodges  called  off  and 
dined  together  in  unanimity." 2    The   committee  were 

(Alves)  Hogg  —  occasioning  William  Hooper's  pun :  "  Entre  nous,  Betsey 
Hogg  will  probably  change  her  name  before  you  see  her  —  and,  for  the  sake 
of  a  pun  —  and  it  is  the  first  I  ever  made  —  will  substitute  the  food  for  the 
animal."  They  left  two  children:  John  Huske,  of  Fayetteville,  father  of  the 
late  Reverend  Joseph  C.  Huske;  and  Annie,  who  was  married  to  Dr.  James 
Webb,  of  Hillsborough. 

1  This  building  stood  on  what  is  now  the  site  of  the  old  Fulton  House,  at 
present  called  the  Southern  Hotel,  on  the  east  side  of  Front  Street,  be- 
tween Princess  and  Market  Streets. 

2  Compare  Presidents  who  have  Visited  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  by 

1 06 


TVilmington  and  Georgetown 

honored  by  an  invitation  from  the  President  to  dine  with 
him  at  Dorsey's  Tavern,  which  they  did ;  and  after  a  short 
repast,  he  took  a  walk  around  the  town,  being  accompanied 
by  the  committee  and  many  other  gentlemen  of  the  town. 
Washington  did  not  have  his  lodgings  at  Dorsey's 
Tavern,  as  it  happened.  The  house  which  at  first  was  "in- 
tended for  him  by  the  inhabitants  for  his  reception  and  ac- 
commodation "  was  not  ready  for  him;  and  while  the  city 
fathers  were  in  this  dilemma,  "Mrs.  Quince,  a  widow  lady, 
whose  family  was  then  large,  cheerfully  made  an  offer  to 
the  town  of  her  elegant  house  and  furniture  for  that  pur- 
pose, which  was  gratefully  accepted."  1  The  patriotic  and 
hospitable  Mrs.  Quince,  who  doubtless  gave  up  her  house 
at  no  little  inconvenience  to  herself,  because  of  being  a 
widow  with  a  large  family,  was  "the  wife  of  Mr.  John 
Quince,  a  wealthy  citizen  who  has  descendants  now  re- 
siding here.  They  had  a  very  pretentious  residence  on  the 
southeast  corner  of  what  is  now  Front  and  Dark  Streets, 
the  site  whereon  now  stands  the  two-story  frame  house, 
for  so  many  years  occupied  by  the  wholesale  grocery 
house  of  Adrian  and  Vollers.  Little  do  we  think  daily  in 
passing  that  now  unpretentious  corner  that  the  immortal 
Washington  tarried  there."  2  Not  without  regret  must 
Washington  have  learned  of  the  death,  a  few  months 
earlier,  of  the  courtly  Hooper  —  one  of  that  triumvirate 

Iredell  Meares,  and  issued  as  a  souvenir  on  the  occasion  of  the  visit  of 
President  Taft,  November  9,  1909. 

1  Columbian  Centinel,  June  II,  1791. 

2  Wilmington  Messenger,  April  25,  1901.  This  building,  a  brick  structure, 
was  destroyed  by  fire  many  years  ago. 

I07 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

in  the  Continental  Congress,  Lee,  Patrick  Henry,  and 
Hooper,  whom  John  Adams  called  "the  orators";  one 
who  always  "feared  when  Washington  was  not  in  com- 
mand " ;  and  who,  when  the  Revolution  was  at  its  height, 
wrote  of  Washington  in  the  following  strain  to  Robert 
Morris:  "When  it  shall  be  consistent  with  Policy  to  give 
the  history  of  that  man,  from  his  first  introduction  into 
our  service,  how  often  America  has  been  rescued  from 
ruin  by  the  mere  strength  of  his  genius,  conduct  and  cour- 
age, encountering  every  obstacle  that  want  of  money,  men, 
arms,  ammunition  could  throw  in  his  way,  an  impartial 
world  will  say  with  you  that  he  is  the  greatest  man  on 
earth."  l  Sad,  too,  was  it  to  miss  that  soldier  in  whom 
Washington  had  reposed  such  particular  confidence,  the 
intrepid  Robert  Howe  —  the  soldier  whom  Washington, 
in  a  crisis  in  1781,  had  sent  to  quell  the  mutiny  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  New  Jersey  troops,  a  mission  so  efficiently 
executed  that  Washington,  in  behalf  of  the  country,  re- 
turned a  vote  of  thanks  to  General  Howe  and  his  troops. 
And  perhaps,  too,  Washington,  associating  Wilmington 
with  the  days  of  his  youth,  affectionately  recalled  that 
trustworthy  soldier,  Colonel  James  Innes,  his  comrade  in 
arms  at  Braddock's  defeat. 

On  Monday,  in  the  forenoon,  Washington  received  a 
delegation  of  the  citizens ;  and  the  leader  presented  to  him 
the  following  address,  which  strikingly  predicts  the  "effec- 
tual operation  of  the  new  constitution": 


1  Archibald  Henderson:  "William  Hooper,"  in  Greensboro  Daily  News, 
February  22,  1917. 

IO8 


Wilmington  and  Georgetown 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
Sir, 

We  wait  on  you  to  offer  the  tribute  of  respect,  gratitude 
and  esteem  so  justly  due  to  your  exalted  station,  your  eminent 
public  services,  and  the  extraordinary  virtues  that  adorn  your 
character. 

We  thank  you  for  the  high  honour  conferred  on  us  by  your 
visit  to  this  place  in  your  tour  through  the  southern  states, 
and  salute  you  with  the  most  cordial  welcome  to  the  chief 
sea-port  town  of  the  extensive  state  of  North  Carolina. 

It  may  be  proper  to  observe,  Sir,  that  if  the  progress  of 
agricultural  and  commercial  improvement,  in  the  state  of 
which  we  are  a  part,  bore  any  proportion  to  the  great  natural 
resources  it  contains,  this  town  would  probably  have  sur- 
mounted some  of  the  obvious  disadvantages  of  its  situation, 
and  become  more  worthy  of  the  honor  it  now  enjoys  by  your 
presence. 

Truly  sensible,  that  a  system  of  government,  at  once  benig- 
nant and  efficient,  is  the  sure  source  of  safety  and  prosperity 
to  every  country  where  it  obtains,  We  anticipate  with  great 
pleasure  the  effectual  operation  of  the  new  constitution,  per- 
suading ourselves,  that  the  same  wisdom,  liberality,  and  gen- 
uine patriotism  of  which  there  is  so  illustrious  an  example 
in  the  conduct  of  our  Chief  Magistrate,  have  hitherto  influ- 
enced and  will  continue  to  temper  the  councils  of  the  nation; 
We  ardently  hope  that  admirable  political  fabric,  reared  upon 
the  basis  of  public  virtue,  may  prove  a  strong  pillar  of  sup- 
port to  the  union  of  the  states,  —  improved  and  strengthened 
by  revolving  years,  may  it  be  as  durable  as  your  fame,  and 
extend  the  blessings  of  civil  liberty  to  the  latest  ages. 

Accept,  Sir,  our  humble  testimony,  in  addition  to  the  in- 
numerable instances  you  have  experienced,  in  proof  that  the 
same  sentiment  pervades  the  breasts  of  the  citizens  of  the 
United  States  universally,  that  to  you,  principally  (under 
Providence)  our  common  country  is  indebted  for  liberty  and 
independence,  that  those  invaluable  acquisitions  are  become 
the  means  of  permanent  happiness,  is  equally  an  occasion  of 
gratitude  to  you. 

109 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

May  you  long  continue  on  earth  your  country's  glory  and 
human  nature's  great  ornament,  and  finally,  in  an  immor- 
tal state  receive  from  the  Great  Protector  of  the  Universe, 
the  rich  reward  that  awaits  the  distinguished  benefactors  of 
mankind. 

Signed  Wm.  Campbell 

John  Bradley 
J.  Fergus 
G.  Hooper 
Wm.  Hill 
Ed.  Jones 
James  Read 
Committee  appointed  by  the  Inhabitants1 

1  William  Campbell,  a  man  of  wealth  and  a  prosperous  merchant,  was  the 
brother  of  James  Campbell,  a  prominent  Scotch  merchant  and  trader 
whose  enterprises  carried  him  back  and  forth  between  Boston  and  the  Cape 
Fear  region.  His  father,  James  Campbell,  was  a  resident  of  Wilmington  in 
the  early  years  of  the  eighteenth  century.  He  was  a  leading  citizen  of  Wil- 
mington, a  member  of  the  order  of  Sons  of  Liberty  (1770),  sheriff  of  New 
Hanover  County  (1774-75),  and  served  on  the  Safety  Committee  of  that 
town  with  such  patriots  as  Cornelius  Harnett,  William  Hooper,  Archibald 
Maclaine,  Adam  Boyd,  Henry  Toomer,  and  Caleb  Grainger.  On  October 
25,  1 775,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Secrecy  and  Corre- 
spondence, but  resigned  soon  afterwards,  presumably  because  of  Royalist 
sympathies.  He  lent  money  freely  to  leaders  of  the  Revolution,  and  was 
solicitous  for  the  welfare  of  Governor  Thomas  Burke,  when  the  latter  was  a 
prisoner  of  the  British  at  Wilmington  in  1781.  He  was  one  of  the  original 
subscribers  to  Thomas  Godfrey's  The  Prince  of  Parthia  (completed  in  Wil- 
mington), the  first  tragedy  ever  written  by  an  American. 

John  Bradley,  son  of  Richard  Bradley,  of  Kendall,  England,  and  Ann 
Sharpless,  of  Chester,  Pennsylvania.  His  parents,  both  Quakers,  who  were 
married  in  1734,  removed  from  Pennsylvania  to  Guilford  County,  North 
Carolina.  Later  removing  to  Wilmington,  Richard  Bradley  became  a 
prominent  merchant.  During  the  occupation  of  Wilmington  by  Royalist 
forces,  the  Bradley  family  were  ousted  from  their  home  and  otherwise 
harshly  treated  by  Craig.  Richard's  son,  John,  who  never  married,  was 
also  a  prominent  merchant.  His  four  sisters  were  married  to  representa- 
tives of  leading  families  of  the  Cape  Fear  section:  Lord,  Green,  Wright, 
Brown.  John  Bradley  was  trustee  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Wilming- 
ton (appointed  1785),  and  Commissary  of  Issues  at  that  port  for  a  time. 
John  Rutherford  describes  him  as  a  "peaceable  and  well  disposed  citizen," 
a  man  deserving  of  "merit  in  supporting  a  mother,  brother,  and  several 
sisters,  in  ease  and  comfort,  by  his  industry."   In  a  duel  on  July  n,  1787, 

I IO 


Wilmington  and  Georgetown 

In  his  reply,  as  was  his  custom,  Washington  dwells  upon 
the  virtues  of  the  general  government,  and  prophesies 

he  killed  Major  Samuel  Swann.  In  a  Legislative  Report  regarding  this 
duel,  it  was  stated  that  he  "  innocently  and  unintentionally  gave  an  offence 
to  the  deceased  Mr.  Swann  .  .  .  and  did  everything  in  his  power  to  avoid 
the  fatal  conflict."  He  was  pardoned  for  this  duel  by  the  Legislature  of 
North  Carolina  in  1789.  He  died  in  1811.  Consult  McRee:  Life  and  Letters 
of  James  Iredell. 

Dr.  James  Fergus,  a  noted  physician,  was  a  warm  adherent  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary cause.  He  served  as  surgeon  of  the  Sixth  Regiment  of  North 
Carolina  troops  during  the  Revolution.  He  was  probably  the  son  of  Dr. 
John  Fergus,  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  New  Hanover  County,  who  is  de- 
scribed by  McRee,  in  the  Life  and  Letters  of  James  Iredell,  as  "of  stately 
presence,  with  velvet  coat,  cocked  hat  and  gold-headed  cane,  a  graduate  of 
Edinburgh,  and  an  excellent  Latin  and  Greek  scholar."  Under  the  title  of 
"Surgeon's  Mate,"  James  Fergus  appears  in  a  list  of  the  members  of  the 
North  Carolina  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  founded  at  Hillsborough,  Octo- 
ber, 1783. 

George  Hooper  was  a  son  of  the  Reverend  William  Hooper  of  Boston, 
second  rector  of  Trinity  Church;  and  brother  of  William  Hooper, 
signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  from  North  Carolina.  He  was  a 
graduate  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  In  a  letter  addressed  to  "  the 
distressed  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Boston"  (July  21,  1774),  in  which 
occur  very  strong  expressions  in  regard  to  the  invasion  of  the  rights  of  the 
American  people,  his  name  stands  second  in  the  list  of  signatures.  When 
the  drift  toward  independence  became  clear,  however,  he  avowed  himself 
as  opposed  to  the  Whig  movement.  "He  was  a  loyalist  from  honest  con- 
viction," says  G.  J.  McRee,  "but  took  no  part  in  the  War  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, because  he  could  not  find  it  in  his  heart  to  imbrue  his  hands  in  the 
blood  of  his  neighbors.  .  .  .  His  relations  with  all  the  Whig  leaders  on  the 
lower  Cape  Fear  were  intimate  and  cordial,  and  in  despite  of  his  politics, 
survived  the  Revolution.  Respect  for  his  character  was  general,  if  not  uni- 
versal. He  possessed  a  vigorous  intellect,  was  well  informed,  and  reputed 
to  be  a  good  writer."  As  a  merchant,  he  prosecuted  trade  for  the  major 
part  of  his  life  in  Wilmington,  and  acquired  a  moderate  fortune. 

William  H.  Hill,  the  son  of  William  Hill  of  Boston  and  a  Harvard  gradu- 
ate; studied  law  in  Boston.  He  was  a  brilliant  lawyer,  an  eloquent  advo- 
cate. In  1789  he  was  appointed  by  Washington  the  first  District  Attorney 
of  the  United  States  for  North  Carolina.  In  the  State  Assembly,  Senate 
(1794),  House  (1797).  Served  in  Congress,  1799-1803.  Voted  for  Burr  for 
President.  Appointed  Federal  Judge  by  Adams,  but  the  appointment  was 
not  confirmed.  Lived  at  "Hillton"  in  the  suburbs  of  Wilmington,  and  was 
a  successful  planter.  He  was  thrice  married:  to  Elizabeth  Moore;  Alice 
Starkey;  Eliza  Maria  Ashe.  Consult  Life  of  William  Hill,  by  A.  M. 
Hooper;  also,  Biographical  History  of  North  Carolina,  vol.  iv. 

Ill 


}Vashington'>s  Southern  Tour 

prosperity  for  the  country  under  its  stable  and  benign  in- 
fluence. 

To  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  Wilmington. 
Gentlemen, 

Appreciating  with  due  value  the  sentiments  you  are 
pleased  to  express  for  my  station  and  character,  I  should  fail 
in  candour  and  respect  not  to  avow  the  grateful  sensations 
excited  by  your  address,  for  which  I  thank  you  with  un- 
feigned sincerity. 

Reasoning  from  the  rapid  progress  of  improvement 
throughout  the  United  States,  and  adverting  to  the  facility 
which  every  undertaking  must  derive  from  a  settled  system 
of  government,  the  obviation  of  those  disadvantages,  imposed 
by  situation  on  your  town  may,  I  think,  be  calculated  upon 
within  no  very  distant  period. 

Edward  Jones,  brother  of  William  Todd  Jones,  the  Irish  patriot,  was 
born  in  Lisburn,  Ireland,  March  io,  1762;  settled  in  Wilmington  in  1786. 
Represented  the  Town  of  Wilmington  in  North  Carolina  House  of  Com- 
mons (1788-91).  In  1791  he  was  unanimously  elected  Solicitor  General 
of  North  Carolina,  an  office  created  for  him  and  to  which  he  was  elected 
for  life.  He  attained  high  distinction  as  a  lawyer,  by  his  talent  and  learn- 
ing. Married  to  Mary  Elizabeth  Mallett,  June  20,  1790.  About  1795  ne 
removed  to  Rock  Rest,  Chatham  County.  He  died  at  Pittsborough,  North 
Carolina,  August  8,  1841.  He  was  the  friend  and  patron  of  Johnston 
Blakely,  naval  hero  of  the  War  of  1812. 

James  Read  was  born  in  Armagh,  Ireland.  He  emigrated  to  North  Caro- 
lina and  "  threw  himself  heartily  into  the  patriot  cause  "  at  the  outbreak  of 
the  Revolution.  Appointed  ensign,  January  4,  1776;  lieutenant,  July  7, 
1776;  and  captain,  July  8,  1777,  First  North  Carolina  Continental  Battal- 
ion, under  the  command  of  Colonel,  afterwards  General,  Moore.  He  served 
throughout  the  war,  distinguishing  himself  under  Greene  at  Guilford 
Court-House  and  Hobkirk's  Hill.  After  the  war  he  stoutly  opposed  the 
adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution.  Was  appointed  Collector  of  the  Port 
of  Brunswick  in  1785,  pursuant  to  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly  (1784). 
Served  as  Commissioner  on  Pilotage  of  Cape  Fear  River  (1783),  Commis- 
sioner for  the  Officers  and  Soldiers  of  the  Continental  Line  (1783-85),  and 
trustee  of  Innes  Academy  (1788).  He  was  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina 
Society  of  the  Cincinnati.  In  1790,  Wilmington  was  made  the  port  of  entry 
for  the  Cape  Fear  River;  and  he  was  appointed  collector  of  that  port  by 
Washington  in  1790.  This  office  he  held  until  his  death  in  1802  or  1803. 
He  was  never  married. 

112 


Wilmington  and  Georgetown 

The  sanction  which  experience  has  already  given  to  the 
salutary  influence  of  the  general  government  on  the  affairs  of 
the  United  States,  authorizes  a  well  founded  expectation, 
that  every  aid  which  a  wise  and  virtuous  legislation  can  ren- 
der to  individual  industry,  will  be  afforded,  and  creates  a 
pleasing  hope,  that  the  happiness  of  her  citizens  will  be  com- 
mensurate with  the  growing  dignity  and  importance  of  our 
country. 

I  express  a  heartfelt  sentiment  in  wishing  to  your  town  and 
its  inhabitants  a  full  proportion  of  general  and  particular 
felicity. 

G.  Washington 

In  "The  General  Advertiser  and  Political,  Commercial 
and  Literary  Journal"  (Philadelphia,  June  4,  1791),  the 
above  address  to  George  Washington  is  dated  Wilming- 
ton (North  Carolina),  April  16,  and  signed  "In  behalf  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Wilmington,  April  26,  1791. 
Thomas  Wright."  * 

1  Thomas  Wright,  son  of  Samuel  and  Sarah  (Pettigrew)  Wright,  was  the 
great-grandson  of  Thomas  Wright,  of  Wethersfield,  Connecticut,  Deputy 
to  the  General  Court  in  1643.  He  served  three  years  as  a  private  in  the 
Fourth  Regiment,  North  Carolina  Continental  Line  (April  29,  1776,  to 
May  10,  1779).  In  Wilmington  his  house  stood  on  the  Southwest  corner  of 
Market  and  Third  Streets;  it  was  used  as  headquarters  by  Lord  Cornwallis 
in  1 78 1.  The  famous  "Fairfield"  plantation,  on  the  northeast  branch  of 
the  Cape  Fear  River,  originally  belonged  to  Humphrey,  brother  to  Gabriel 
Johnston,  Governor  of  North  Carolina;  and  was  purchased  by  Thomas 
Wright  of  the  widow  of  Joseph  Wragg.  He  was  appointed  by  the  North 
Carolina  Legislature  a  Trustee  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Wilmington 
(1785)  and  a  Trustee  of  the  Innes  Academy  (1788).  He  served  the  longest 
recorded  term  as  Sheriff  of  New  Hanover  County  (1782-98).  He  was  mar- 
ried to  Anne  Grainger,  daughter  of  Joshua  Grainger,  Jr.  Their  son,  the 
distinguished  Joshua  Grainger  Wright,  was  married  to  Susan  Bradley, 
daughter  of  John  Bradley,  already  mentioned.  For  Joshua  G.  Wright  was 
named  Wrightsville,  village  and  beach,  a  famous  seaside  resort  near  Wil- 
mington. Another  genealogist  states  that  Thomas  Wright  (2),  was  the  son 
of  Thomas  Wright  (1)  by  his  first  marriage;  that  he  was  married  to  Ann 
Winslow,  of  Fayetteville;  and  that  Joshua  G.  Wright  was  the  son  of 
Thomas  Wright  (1)  by  his  second  wife,  Anne  Grainger. 

113 


IVashi?igtorfs  Southern  Tour 

We  may  be  sure,  from  the  evidence  of  the  love  of  good 
things  and  the  joy  of  living  which  the  people  of  Wilming- 
ton have  always  shown,  that  Washington  enjoyed  "the 
elegant  dinner  at  Jocelin's  tavern"  given  in  his  honor 
that  day  by  the  gentlemen  of  the  town.  In  the  after- 
noon there  was  a  "procession,"  doubtless  a  military  pa- 
rade, the  soldiery  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Brown 
and  Captains  Toomer  and  Huske  being  reviewed  by  Wash- 
ington; and  in  the  evening  there  was  a  Grand  Ball  given  at 
the  Assembly  Hall,  which  was  sometimes  called  "Old  '76," 
because  it  had  been  built  in  1776.1  At  this  ball  —  at 
which  he  notes  the  presence  of  sixty-two  ladies  —  Wash- 
ington "appeared  to  be  equally  surprised  and  delighted, 
at  the  very  large  and  brilliant  assembly,  of  ladies,  whom 
admiration  and  respect  for  him  had  collected  together." 
The  same  evening  there  was  a  general  illumination  and 
bonfires,  the  ship  Maria  of  Boston,  festooned  with  lights 
—  deck,  spars,  and  masts  —  presenting  a  rarely  beautiful 
sight.  So  universal  was  the  participation  in  the  festivities 
by  all  the  inhabitants  that  a  contemporary  print  thus 
comments:  "It  is  scarcely  possible  to  do  justice  to  the  zeal 
with  which  every  description  of  persons  appeared  to  be  an- 
imated to  do  honour  and  afford  satisfaction  to  the  illus- 
trious visitant." 

An  intimate  glimpse  of  the  ceremonies,  and  of  the  ex- 
citements of  these  two  crowded  days,  is  afforded  by  a  con- 

1  This  building  stood  on  Front  Street,  east  side,  between  Orange  and 
Ann  Streets,  where  now  stands  the  two-story  brick  tenement  house  owned 
by  S.  Teller,  Esq.  It  was  later  used  as  a  sailor  boarding-house  and  was  torn 
down  just  a  century  after  its  erection. 

114 


Wilmington  and  Georgetown 

temporary  letter,  written  by  Mrs.  Anna  Jean  Simpson  to 
her  sister,  Mrs.  Christian  Fleming,  of  Wilmington,  who 
was  then  at  Brown  Marsh,  now  Clarkton,  Bladen  County, 
where  her  husband  had  a  plantation. 

25/A  April,  1 79 1. 

Many  thanks,  my  dear  sister,  for  your  kind  invitation. 
Poor  Mary  is  indeed  in  a  very  bad  way,  she  has  not  been  out 
of  bed  but  to  have  it  made  for  eight  days  past,  though  I  hope, 
as  her  ague  has  left  her  and  the  fever  is  less,  that  she  will  soon 
get  strength  to  visit  you.  At  present  I  am  afraid  she  is  too 
weak.  I  shall  let  you  know  by  next  opportunity  when  to  send. 

Great  doings  this  day.  General  Washington  arrived  yester- 
day. The  Light  Horse  went  to  meet  him.  The  artillery  were 
ready  to  receive  him  with  a  round  from  the  batteries,  four 
guns.  This  day  he  dines  with  the  Gentlemen  of  the  town;  in 
the  evening  a  grand  ball  and  illumination;  to-morrow  takes 
his  leave.  I  believe  the  Light  Horse  are  to  escort  him  a  day's 
journey  on  his  way  to  Chas'ton. 

Half-past  four  —  just  going  to  dinner  —  cannons  firing; 
Chrissy  and  the  children  all  gone  to  see  the  procession.  I 
don't  go  to  the  ball  this  evening  as  Mary  cannot  accompany 
me.  She  desires  me  to  ask  if  you  have  many  beaux  at  the 
Marsh.  Adieu.   I  must  get  the  candles. 

Mrs.  Quince  has  given  up  her  house  to  the  General  and  she 
stays  with  our  uncles.  .  .  . 

Believe  me  to  be  your  affectionate  sister, 

Anna  Jean  Simpson.1 

Surviving  down  to  the  present  time  is  the  tradition  that 
Washington  asked  "Lai"  Dorsey,  the  keeper  of  the  inn 
where  he  dined  the  day  of  his  arrival,  what  kind  of  water 

1  This  letter  is  owned  by  Clayton  Giles,  Esq.,  of  Wilmington,  a  descend- 
ant of  Mrs.  Fleming.  Mrs.  Simpson  and  Mrs.  Fleming  were  the  daughters 
of  Mr.  William  McKenzie,  a  Scotchman  who  once  lived  in  Wilmington  and 
subsequently  removed  to  Georgia.  Mrs.  Simpson  was  the  wife  of  Mr.  John 
Simpson,  of  Georgia,  who  was  a  member  of  the  King's  Council  for  the 
Colony  of  Georgia  and,  at  the  date  of  her  letter,  is  supposed  to  be  visiting 
relatives  in  Wilmington. 

us 


fVashifigtorfs  Southern  Tour 

the  people  of  Wilmington  had  to  drink  —  as  he  had  no- 
ticed the  very  flat  and  swampy  nature  of  the  surround- 
ing country.  The  impudent  innkeeper,  who  preceded 
Volstead  by  a  century  and  a  quarter,  replied  that  he  didn't 
know —  as  he  hadn't  drunk  any  for  forty  years!  Report 
hath  it  that,  on  receiving  this  reply,  the  tactful  visitor, 
with  a  delicate  appreciation  of  the  local  option  then  in 
vogue,  made  no  further  inquiries  concerning  the  water 
during  his  stay  in  Wilmington. 

In  his  diary  of  Sunday,  24th,  Washington  makes  rather 
lengthy  comment  upon  Wilmington  and  the  surrounding 
country: 

The  whole  Road  from  Newbern  to  Wilmington  (except  in  a 
few  places  of  small  extent)  passes  through  the  most  barren 
country  I  ever  beheld;  especially  in  the  parts  nearest  the 
latter;  which  is  no  other  than  a  bed  of  white  sand.  —  In 
places,  however,  before  we  came  to  these,  if  the  ideas  of 
poverty  could  be  separated  from  the  Sand,  the  appearances  of 
it  are  agreeable,  resembling  a  lawn  well  covered  with  ever- 
greens, and  a  good  verdure  below  from  a  broom  or  course 
grass  which  having  sprung  since  the  burning  of  the  Woods  had 
a  neat  and  handsome  look  especially  as  there  were  parts 
entirely  open  —  and  others  with  ponds  of  water,  which  con- 
tributed not  a  little  to  the  beauty  of  the  scene. 

Wilmington  is  situated  on  the  Cape  Fear  River,  about 
30  miles  by  water  from  its  mouth,  but  much  less  by  land  — 
1 1  has  some  good  houses  pretty  compactly  built.  —  The  whole 
undr  a  hill;  which  is  formed  entirely  of  sand.  —  The  number  of 
Souls  in  it  amount  by  the  enumeration  to  about  iooo,1  but  it 

1  The  growth  of  the  population  of  Wilmington  was  slow.  By  1820  Wil- 
mington had  only  1098  whites,  1433  slaves,  102  free  negroes  —  a  total  of 
only  2633.  In  1765  it  contained  less  than  eight  hundred  people.  If<he  in- 
crease in  population  were  uniform,  the  population  of  Wilmington  in  1791 
must  have  been  about  sixteen  hundred. 

Il6 


Wilmington  and  Georgetown 

is  agreed  on  all  hands  that  the  Census  in  this  State  has  been 
very  inaccurately,  &  Shamefully  taken  by  the  Marshall's 
deputies;  who,  instead  of  going  to  Peoples  houses,  & 
there,  on  the  spot,  ascertaining  the  Nos.;  have  advertised  a 
meeting  of  them  at  certain  places,  by  which  means  those 
who  did  not  attend  (and  it  seems  many  purposely  avoided 
doing  it,  some  from  an  apprehension  of  its  being  introductory 
of  a  tax,  &  others  from  religious  scruples)  have  gone  with 
their  families,  unnumbered  —  In  other  instances,  it  is  said 
these  deputies  have  taken  their  information  from  the  Cap- 
tains of  Militia  Companies;  not  only  as  to  the  men  on  their 
Muster  Rolls,  but  of  the  Souls,  in  their  respective  families; 
which  at  best,  must  in  a  variety  of  cases,  be  mere  conjecture 
whilst  all  those  who  are  not  on  their  lists  —  Widows  and 
their  families  &c.  pass  unnoticed. 

Wilmington,  unfortunately  for  it,  has  a  Mud  bank,  — 
miles  below,  over  which  not  more  than  10  feet  water  can  be 
brought  at  common  tides,  yet  it  is  said  vessels  of  250  Tons 
have  come  up.  —  The  quty.  of  Shipping,  which  load  here 
annually,  amounts  to  about  1 200  Tonns.  —  The  exports  con- 
sist chiefly  of  Naval  Stores  and  lumber.  —  Some  Tobacco, 
Corn,  Rice  &  flax  seed  with  Porke.  —  It  is  at  the  head  of 
the  tide  navigation,  but  inland  navigation  may  be  extended 
115  miles  farther  to  and  above  Fayettesville  which  is  from 
Wilmington  90  miles  by  land,  &  115  by  Water  as  above. 
—  Fayettesville  is  a  thriving  place  containing  near 
Souls1  —  6000  Hhds.  of  Tobacco,  &  3000  Hhds.  of  Flax 
Seed  have  been  reed,  at  it  in  the  course  of  the  year. 

Upon  arrival  in  Wilmington,  Major  Jackson  received  a 
courteous  letter  from  a  prominent  citizen  of  Charleston  — 
perhaps  Intendant  Amoldus  Vanderhorst, 2  expressing  the 
desire  that  Washington  might  be  lodged  at  the  writer's 
private  house.   The  writer,  presumably  in  an  official  ca- 

1  The  population  of  Fayetteville  was  about  one  thousand. 

2  The  original  of  this  letter  has  not  been  found.  The  reply  of  Major 
Jackson,  in  the  Washington  MSS.,  Library  of  Congress,  gives  no  indication 
of  the  name  of  the  person  to  whom  it  was  addressed. 

117 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

pacity,  had  engaged  the  handsome  house  of  the  Honorable 
Thomas  Heyward,  Jr.,  for  Washington's  "quarters  "  during 
his  sojourn  in  Charleston.  Major  Jackson  made  the  fol- 
lowing reply  to  this  letter: 

Wilmington,  April  24,  1791. 
Dear  Sir, 

I  had  the  honor  to  receive  your  letter  of  the  2nd  instant; 
on  our  arrival  here  this  morning. 

The  President  of  the  U.  S.,  to  whom  I  have  communicated 
its  contents,  directs  me,  as  it  relates  to  him  to  express  to  you, 
and  through  you,  to  the  Citizens  of  South  Carolina,  the  sensi- 
bility with  which  he  learns  their  intention  to  receive  and  to 
accommodate  him  —  he  adds  that  no  subsequent  circum- 
stance can  lessen  his  sense  of  their  goodness  on  this  occasion, 
—  But  as  the  uncertainty  of  his  arrival  at  any  given  place  is 
greatly  encreased  by  the  deep  sandy  roads,  which  he  is  to 
encounter  with  horses  somewhat  exhausted,  he  is  not  able  to 
say  more  than  that  he  will  leave  Wilmington  on  tuesday 
morning,  and  proceed  towards  Charleston  as  fast  as  may  con- 
sist with  convenience  and  good  speed. 

The  President's  uniform  determination  to  decline  private 
invitations  to  quarters,  which  is  founded  in  the  desire  of 
avoiding  to  give  inconvenience  to  private  families,  prevails 
over  his  wish  to  benefit  from  the  hospitality  to  which  your 
letter  alludes.  —  He  desires  me  to  express  his  particular  ob- 
ligations to  your  care  in  procuring  lodgings  for  him  —  and  to 
present  to  you  his  respects. 

On  Tuesday  morning  (26th),  having  sent  his  carriage 
across  the  day  before,  Washington  made  an  early  start  — 
six  o'clock.  Prior  to  his  departure,  all  the  necessary  prepa- 
rations and  arrangements  had  been  agreed  upon.  So  the 
programme  went  off  with  perfect  smoothness.  The  Pres- 
ident went  on  board  the  "elegantly  decorated"  revenue 

barge,  which  was  manned  by  six  American  captains  of 

118 


Wilmington  and  Georgetown 

ships,  in  which  the  standard  of  the  United  States  was  dis- 
played ;  and  attended  by  the  boats  from  the  shipping  in  the 
harbor,  under  their  national  colors,  on  board  of  which  the 
committee  and  other  gentlemen  of  the  town  embarked, 
proceeded,  to  the  firing  of  cannon  and  the  acclamations  of 
throngs  of  people  at  the  wharves  and  on  the  ships,  to  "  Bel- 
videre,"  the  seat  of  Colonel  Benjamin  Smith,  in  Brunswick 
County.  In  speaking  of  the  almost  universal  participation 
in  the  festivities  at  Wilmington,  a  contemporary  print 
says:  "The  behavior  of  the  Masters  of  the  vessels  above 
mentioned,  does  them  great  honour,  and  the  Commanders 
of  the  foreign  vessels  in  the  river,  are  entitled  to  a  con- 
siderable share  of  praise";  with  the  further  bit  of  news: 
"The  President  was  pleased,  before  his  departure,  to 
appoint  Captain  Cook  of  this  town  (Wilmington),  to  the 
command  of  one  of  the  Revenue  Cutters  now  building." 

According  to  tradition,  when  Washington  reached  the 
river  landing  at  "Belvidere"  he  was  met  by  thirteen 
young  ladies,  all  dressed  in  white  and  representing  the 
thirteen  colonies,  who  preceded  him  up  the  avenue  of  old 
trees  leading  from  the  river  to  the  brick  residence  of  Gen- 
eral Smith,  scattering  flowers  in  the  path  of  the  national 
hero  as  he  approached.  Washington  greeted  with  partic- 
ular pleasure  his  former  aide-de-camp  during  the  hazard- 
ous yet  masterly  retreat  from  Long  Island,  the  brave 
soldier  who  had  distinguished  himself  when  the  British 
were  driven  from  Port  Royal  Island,  a  most  gracious  and 
entertaining  host,  General  Smith.  To  his  host,  who  at  one 

time  was  Past  Grand  Master  of  the  Masonic  Grand  Lodge 

119 


Washington* s  Southern  Tour 

of  North  Carolina,  as  a  mark  of  friendship,  Washington 
presented  a  Masonic  apron,  which  a  descendant  afterwards 
donated  to  some  Masonic  lodge  in  Pennsylvania.  It  is 
said,  probably  incorrectly,  that  "when  General  Smith 
learned  of  the  illness  of  Washington  he  immediately  left 
his  house  in  North  Carolina  and  hastened  to  the  bedside  of 
his  chief,  where  he  remained  until  Washington  died."  It 
is  not  improbable  that  General  Smith  went  to  Mount 
Vernon  on  hearing  of  Washington's  death,  and  was  in  time 
to  attend  the  funeral.  By  an  oversight,  Washington  left  his 
easy  slippers  behind  at  "Belvidere,"  and  many  years  later 
one  of  them  it  seems  was  presented  (such  is  the  interest 
attaching  to  even  the  most  trivial  thing  which  once  be- 
longed to  a  celebrity)  to  the  British  Museum!  * 

After  having  breakfast  at  "Belvidere,"  Washington 
took  to  the  road  once  more,  being  accompanied  for  some 
ten  miles  by  Colonel  Brown,2  commander  of  the  Horse  for 

1  Tom  Masson,  in  the  Mobile  Register.  General  Smith  was  a  great- 
grandson  of  Thomas  Smith,  first  landgrave  of  South  Carolina;  and  his  wife, 
Sarah,  the  daughter  of  Colonel  William  Dry,  Collector  of  the  Port  of  Wil- 
mington, was  a  descendant  of  Cromwell's  admiral,  Robert  Blake.  The  year 
following  Washington's  visit,  the  town  which  contained  the  courthouse  of 
Brunswick  County  was  named  Smithville  in  his  honor  —  a  name  which  it 
bore  for  a  century.  It  now  bears  the  name  of  Southport.  General  Smith 
was  prominent  in  politics,  being  repeatedly  returned  to  State  House  and 
Senate;  a  member  of  the  convention  which  adopted  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States;  and  subsequently  Governor  of  North  Carolina.  He  was  a 
generous  donor  to  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  where  a  building  was 
named  Smith  Hall  in  his  honor.  During  Washington's  presidency,  he  was 
appointed  General  of  Militia  (1796). 

2  Thomas  Brown,  son  of  John  Brown  and  Lucy  Bright,  was  born  in 
Bladen  County,  North  Carolina,  January  7,  1744.  Served  under  General 
Hugh  Waddell  in  the  War  of  the  Regulation,  1771.  Member  of  Commit- 
tee of  Safety  for  Bladen  County,  1774.  Participated  in  general  meeting 
of  Committees  of  Safety  of  the  Wilmington  District,  June  20, 1775,  s'gn'ng 
the  "Association."    About  this  time  he  was  married  to  Sarah  Bartram, 

I20 


THE  LIBRARY 
OF  THE 


Wilmington  and  Georgetown 

the  district,  and  the  Wilmington  troop.  At  his  "first 
stage  on  the  road  to  Charleston,"  he  was  met  by  the  Rep- 
resentative in  Congress  from  Fayetteville,  William  Barry 
Grove,  Esq.,  a  prominent  North  Carolina  Federalist,  Rep- 
resentative from  North  Carolina  in  the  Second,  Third, 
Fourth,  Fifth,  Sixth,  and  Seventh  Congresses  —  the 
colleague  in  Congress  of  such  prominent  North  Caro- 
lina Federalists  as  Archibald  Henderson,  John  Steele, 
John  Stanly,  and  William  H.  Hill.  Grove,  who  enjoyed 
great  popularity  in  his  district,  was  an  ardent  supporter  of 
the  Constitution  at  the  Convention  in  1789;  and  was  for 
many  years  a  member  of  the  National  Congress.1  Before 
leaving  Philadelphia  he  had  learned  that  Washington  con- 
templated making  a  tour  through  the  South;  and  doubt- 
less at  his  instance,  a  general  meeting  of  the  citizens,  pre- 

daughter  of  William  Bartram.  Appointed  lieutenant-colonel  of  Bladen 
militia,  September,  1775,  and  participated  in  the  campaign  against  the 
Tories  and  Regulators,  terminating  in  the  defeat  of  General  McDonald  at 
Moore's  Creek,  February  23,  1776.  Member  of  the  Provincial  Congress 
which  met  at  Halifax,  November,  1776.  In  the  autumn  of  1780  was  active 
in  procuring  supplies  for  General  Gates's  army.  In  August  or  September, 
178 1,  after  the  country  had  been  overrun  by  the  Tories,  Colonel  Brown 
with  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  Whigs  made  an  attack  on  the  forces 
under  Colonel  Slingsby  at  Elizabethtown,  and  achieved  a  striking  victory 
over  heavy  odds.  In  1786  he  was  elected  lieutenant-colonel,  commandant 
of  horse,  for  the  District  of  Wilmington,  and  was  later  given  the  rank  of 
major-general  of  the  State  militia.  In  1785,  1786,  and  1788  he  served  in  the 
North  Carolina  Assembly  as  Senator  from  Bladen  County.  Was  married 
a  second  time,  to  Lucy  Bradley,  daughter  of  Richard  Bradley  and  Eliza- 
beth Ashbridge  [or  Ann?]  Sharpless.  He  resided  at  Ashwood,on  the  Cape 
Fear  River,  sixty  miles  from  Fort  Johnson.  Died  in  Bladen  County,  No- 
vember 24,  181 1. 

1  In  his  Short  History  of  Cumberland  County  and  the  Cape  Fear  Section, 
J.  H.  Myrover  says  that  Grove  was  "suave  and  courtly  in  manner,  but 
adroit  and  supple  as  a  politician.  .  .  .  Barry  Grove  lived  in  old-time  hos- 
pitality in  a  mansion  on  west  Rowan  Street,  where  he  profusely  and 
elegantly  entertained  the  Congressmen  and  other  public  men.  . .  ." 

121 


Washington' *s  Southern  Tour 

sided  over  by  John  Hay,1  was  held  at  Fayetteville  at  the 
State  House,  April  15th,  when  there  was  adopted  an 
"Address  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America" 
by  the  "Merchants,  Traders  and  principal  Inhabitants  of 
the  town  of  Fayetteville,"  in  all  probability  drafted  by  Mr. 
Grove.  For  some  decades,  Fayetteville  had  been  a  strong- 
hold of  the  Scotch  merchants,  the  leading  market  for  all 
the  Piedmont  region  of  western  North  Carolina,  and  even 
for  the  transmontane  country  of  East  Tennessee  and 
Southwest  Virginia.  Here  the  Legislature  of  North  Caro- 
lina met  in  1788,  1789,  1790,  and  1793;  and  here  for  a 
time  on  the  right  hand  side  of  Green  Street  before  you  cross 
Eccles's  Bridge,  near  the  intersection  of  Green  and  Bow 
Streets  —  according  to  Boswell's  "Life  of  Johnson"  — 
lived  the  famous  Flora  McDonald,  the  protectress  of 
Bonny  Prince  Charlie.  It  is  said  to  be  the  first  town  in  the 
United  States  to  be  named  after  the  Marquis  de  la- 
Fayette  —  the  name  being  changed  from  Cross  Creek  to 
Fayetteville  in  1784.2 

1  John  Hay,  of  a  family  associated  with  the  great  mercantile  interests  of 
Fayetteville,  was  a  brilliant  lawyer  and  talented  writer  on  political  sub- 
jects. He  represented  Sampson  County  in  the  North  Carolina  Assembly, 
October,  1784;  and  Cumberland  County  in  the  House  of  Commons  in  1786, 
and  in  the  State  Convention  of  1788.  He  removed  to  Fayetteville  about 
1785,  and  was  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  House  of  Commons  from 
the  Borough  of  Fayetteville,  1790,  1793,  1799,  1805.  He  was  a  patron  of 
education,  a  member  of  the  first  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  University  of 
North  Carolina.  Consult  G.  J.  McRee:  Life  and  Letters  of  James  Iredell 
(New  York,  1858). 

2  It  is  singular  that  apparently  no  effort  was  made  to  induce  Washington 
to  visit  the  first  town  ever  named  for  him:  Washington,  North  Carolina. 
The  patriotic  fervor  of  the  time,  as  well  as  the  presence  of  the  armed  brig, 
the  General  Washington,  at  the  wharf,  inspired  Colonel  James  Bonner  to 
give  to  his  "intended  Township"  the  name  of  "Washington"  —  which  he 

122 


Wilmington  and  Georgetown 

The  news  of  Washington's  arrival  at  Wilmington  did 
not  reach  Fayetteville,  some  ninety  miles  distant,  until  the 
afternoon  of  Sunday  (24th) ;  whereupon  Mr.  Grove,  bearing 
the  address,  set  off,  but  reached  "Belvidere"  on  Tuesday 
morning  about  an  hour  after  the  President's  departure. 
The  address,  as  given  below,  was  delivered  by  Mr.  Grove 
to  the  President  at  his  first  stop  in  Brunswick  County 
after  leaving  "Belvidere."  It  is  conspicuous  for  its  out- 
spoken endorsement  of  the  President  for  undertaking  the 
tour. 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 
Sir, 

Although  our  voice  can  add  little  to  the  general  acclama- 
tion which  attends  you,  and  to  your  Excellency  must  be  of 
small  moment,  yet  amidst  the  warm  congratulations  on  the 
appearance  in  this  state  of  their  beloved  Chief  Magistrate, 
our  silence  would  indicate  a  want  of  respect;  a  silence  which 
would  be  the  more  reprehensible  in  a  community  so  largely 
interested  in  trade  and  navigation,  more  peculiarly  under  the 
directing  hand  of  that  government  in  which  you  preside. 

Could  any  incident  encrease  the  veneration  we  feel  for 
your  illustrious  character,  heretofore  so  fully  established  as 
the  soldier,  the  statesman  and  the  patriot,  it  is  your  present 
expedition,  in  undertaking  at  an  advanced  period  of  life,  a 
long  and  laborious  journey  for  the  purpose  of  advising  your- 
self, by  personal  observations  and  enquiry,  of  the  true  inter- 
ests of  the  several  states  which  compose  our  confederation. 
From  this  tour  we  presage  the  happy  consequence,  that  those 
who  are  not  yet  satisfied  with  the  tendency,  operation  and 
effects  of  the  present  constitution  of  the  union,  will  be  con- 
vinced of  its  superior  excellency  to  all  former  systems  of 
government. 

did  in  the  deed  to  a  lot,  December  7,  1776.  Compare  article  by  Miss  Lida 
T.  Rodman  in  the  Washington  (N.C.)  Observer,  February  22,  1921. 

123 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

Throughout  your  journey  we  wish  you  as  much  satisfaction 
as  can  attend  it,  and  if  in  its  progress  we  are  to  be  honoured 
by  your  visitation,  the  citizens  of  Fayetteville  will  be  happy 
in  every  attention  which  may  contribute  to  your  pleasure  and 
convenience. 

Under  the  impression  of  the  importance  of  a  life  so  valu- 
able to  our  country  we  commit  it  to  God,  with  our  most  fer- 
vent prayer,  that  it  may  long  be  preserved  as  full  of  happiness 
as  it  hath  been  already  full  of  glory. 

Done  at  the  general  meeting  of  the  Citizens  of  Fayetteville, 
at  the  State-house,  on  Friday,  the  15th  of  April,  1791 . 

John  Hay,  Chairman 

In  reply,  the  President  said: 

Gentlemen, 

It  is  due  to  your  goodness  and  to  my  own  feelings,  that  I 
should  express  the  sensibility  excited  by  your  address,  and 
that  I  should  acknowledge  the  grateful  pleasure  with  which  I 
receive  it. 

My  best  services  are  more  than  compensated  by  the  affec- 
tionate partiality  of  my  fellow  citizens,  and  my  most  anxious 
wishes  are  gratified  in  observing  the  happiness  which  per- 
vades our  country. 

The  very  favourable  change  already  manifested  in  our  po- 
litical system,  justifies  the  prediction  that  the  future  opera- 
tions of  the  general  government  will  be  alike  conducive  to  in- 
dividual prosperity  and  national  honor. 

Should  it  consist  with  the  necessary  arrangements  of  my 
journey,  I  shall  be  happy  in  a  personal  opportunity  in  confess- 
ing my  obligations  to  the  regard  of  the  citizens  of  Fayette- 
ville. In  any  event  I  entreat  them  to  be  persuaded  of  my  sin- 
cere wishes  for  their  welfare.  Geo.  Washington 

An  amusing  incident  occurred  in  connection  with  Wash- 
ington's journey  from  Wilmington  to  Georgetown.  On 
April  5th,  Mr.  J.  Bowman,  writing  from  Peachtree,  South 

Carolina,  extended  a  cordial  invitation  to  the  President  to 

124 


Wilmington  and  Georgetown 

"accept  of  the  accomodations"  of  his  house  —  which 
was  "about  14  miles  from  Georgetown,  &  the  nearest  to 
the  direct  road  from  thence  to  Charlestown."  On  the  16th 
he  writes  again,  saying  that  he  feels  it  "due"  to  mention 
that  he  is  sick,  and  that  he  "  apprehends  his  Indisposition 
to  be  the  Measles"!  Although  he  ventures  the  hope  that 
Washington  and  his  attendants  have  already  "had  that 
disorder,"  certain  it  is  that  Washington  gave  Mr.  J.  Bow- 
man's, for  all  his  hospitality,  a  wide  berth. 

The  diary  for  the  next  three  days  so  fully  covers  the 
main  events  —  details  of  travel  and  private  entertain- 
ment —  that  it  is  here  set  down  verbatim: 

Wednesday,  17  th. 

Breakfasted  at  Willm.  Gause's  a  little  out  of  the  direct 
Road  14  miles  —  crossed  the  boundary  line  between  No.  & 
South  Carolina  abt.  half  after  12  o'clock  which  is  10  miles 
from  Gause's  —  dined  at  a  private  house  (one  Cochran's) 
about  2  miles  farther  —  and  lodged  at  Mr.  Vareen's  14  miles 
more  and  2  miles  short  of  the  long  bay.  —  To  this  house  we 
were  directed  as  a  Tavern,  but  the  proprietor  of  it  either  did 
not  keep  one,  or  would  not  acknowledge  it  —  we  therefore 
were  entertained  (&  very  kindly)  without  being  able  to  make 
compensation. 

Thursday ',  i%th. 

Mr.  Vareen  piloted  us  across  the  Swash  (which  at  high  wa- 
ter is  impassable,  &  at  times,  by  the  shifting  of  the  Sands  is 
dangerous)  on  the  long  Beach  of  the  Ocean;  and  it  being  at  a 
proper  time  of  the  tide  we  passed  along  it  with  ease  and  celer- 
ity to  the  place  of  quitting  it,  which  is  estimated  16  miles,  — 
five  miles  farther  we  got  dinner  &  fed  our  horses  at  a  Mr. 
Pauley's  a  private  house,  no  public  one  being  on  the  Road;  — 
and  being  met  on  the  Road,  &  kindly  invited  by  a  Doctor 
Flagg  to  his  house,  we  lodged  there;  it  being  about  10  miles 
from  Pauley's  &  33  from  Vareen's. 

125 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

Friday,  29th. 

We  left  Doctr.  Flagg's  about  6  o'clock,  and  arrived  at 
Captn.  Wm.  Alston's  on  the  Waggamau  to  Breakfast. 

Captn.  Alston  is  a  Gentleman  of  large  fortune  and  esteemed 
one  of  the  neatest  Rice  planters  in  the  State  of  So.  Carolina 
and  a  proprietor  of  the  most  valuable  ground  for  the  culture 
of  this  article.  —  His  house  which  is  large,  new,  and  elegantly 
furnished  stands  on  a  sand  hill,  high  for  the  Country,  with  his 
Rice  fields  below;  the  contrast  of  which  with  the  lands  back 
of  it,  and  the  Sand  &  piney  barrens  through  which  we  had 
passed  is  scarcely  to  be  conceived. 

Colonel  Alston,1  as  he  was  generally  called,  lived  at 
Clifton  house  (long  since  destroyed  by  fire),  standing 
among  fine  trees,  some  distance  from  the  Waccamaw 
River,  with  the  rice  fields  spreading  out  from  the  base  of 
the  hill.  "  These  fields  in  early  spring,"  says  Mrs.  St.  Ju- 
lien  Ravenel,2  "were  covered  with  the  young  rice,  spring- 
ing green  from  the  dark  earth  and  intersected  by  innumer- 
able ditches,  the  water  gleaming  bright  in  the  sunshine. 
The  President  was  quite  unprepared  for  such  perfection  of 
cultivation,  and,  the  passion  of  his  life  being  agriculture, 

1  William  Alston,  who  had  been  one  of  Marion's  men  during  the  Revolu- 
tion, was  now  one  of  the  most  successful  and  extensive  rice  planters  in 
South  Carolina.  He  had  recently  married  as  his  second  wife  the  beautiful 
Mary  Motte,  daughter  of  Rebecca  Motte,  one  of  the  South  Carolina 
heroines  of  the  Revolution.  He  eschewed  politics,  only  once  permitting 
himself  to  be  elected  to  the  South  Carolina  Senate  to  assist  the  political 
fortunes  of  his  friend,  Thomas  Jefferson.  By  his  first  marriage,  to  Miss 
Ashe,  daughter  of  John  Baptista  Ashe,  of  North  Carolina,  he  had  several 
children,  as  well  as  by  his  second  marriage.  In  a  memorable  obituary, 
written  by  his  son-in-law,  the  famous  Robert  Y.  Hayne.weare  told  that  "his 
house  was  the  abode  of  a  refined  and  elegant  hospitality.  .  .  .  Courteous  in 
his  manners,  social  in  his  disposition,  surrounded  with  a  large  circle  of 
friends  and  blessed  with  an  ample  fortune,  his  tastes  and  habits  were  for 
many  years  those  of  'a  Carolina  gentleman  of  the  old  school."'  (Consult 
Grove:  Alston-Alhton  Genealogy.) 

2  Charleston,  the  Place  and  the  People. 

126 


COLONEL  WILLIAM   ALSTON 


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Wilmington  and  Georgetown 

was  delighted.  It  won  from  him  one  of  the  few  enthu- 
siastic remarks  reported  of  him,  for  he  told  his  hostess  that 
it  'looked  like  fairyland.'  And  afterwards  in  Charleston  he 
said  to  the  Governor  that  he  had  had  no  idea  that  any- 
where in  America  was  there  such  perfection  of  cultivation 
as  he  had  seen  on  the  large  rice  rivers  which  he  had 
crossed." 

At  Captain  Alston's  Washington  found  awaiting  him 
General  William  Moultrie,1  Colonel  William  Washington,2 

1  William  Moultrie,  born  in  England,  1731 ;  died  in  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  1805.  Served  military  apprenticeship  in  campaigns  against  the 
Cherokees.  Colonel  of  Second  Colonial  Regiment;  also  in  Continental 
Congress,  in  1775.  Defended  fortress  on  Sullivan's  Island,  afterwards 
named  for  him,  against  attack  by  combined  land  and  naval  force  in  1776. 
Soon  afterwards  was  commissioned  brigadier-general  in  the  Continental 
Army.  Participated  in  various  engagements.  Second  in  command  at  de- 
fence of  Charleston  in  1780.  His  imprisonment,  following  its  fall,  lasted 
nearly  two  years,  when  he  was  exchanged  for  General  Burgoyne.  Com- 
missioned major-general  by  Congress.  Governor  of  South  Carolina  in  1785 
and  in  1794.  Author  of  "Memoirs  of  the  American  Revolution  so  far  as  it 
related  to  the  States  of  North  and  South  Carolina  and  Georgia."  In  the 
Journal  of  the  South  Carolina  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  at  the  Quarterly 
Meeting,  Oct.  1 4, 1 805,  appears  an  obituary  notice  of  Gen.  Moultrie,  in  which 
appear  these  words:  "Bold  as  Leonidas  he  defended  the  strait  committed 
to  his  charge,  against  a  superiority  of  force,  that  had  been  deemed  irresistible, 
and  more  fortunate  than  the  Spartan  hero,  lived  in  honourable  old  age 
under  the  shades  of  his  laurels,  to  share  with  a  grateful  nation  the  liberty 
his  successful  exertion  had  so  happily  contributed  to  establish. .  . .  His  dis- 
position was  frank,  liberal,  sincere;  his  manners  simple  and  conciliatory." 

7  William  Washington,  the  noted  cavalry  leader  of  the  Revolution,  was 
born  in  Stafford  County,  Virginia,  February  28,  1752.  He  was  educated  for 
the  church.  Early  in  the  Revolution  he  received  a  commission  as  captain  of 
infantry  in  the  Third  Regiment  of  the  Virginia  line,  and  served  with  credit 
in  the  operations  about  New  York,  being  severely  wounded  in  the  Battle  of 
Long  Island.  Distinguished  himself  in  the  Battle  of  Trenton.  After  joining 
army  of  General  Lincoln  in  the  South  in  1779,  he  was  promoted  to  command 
of  a  regiment  of  dragoons,  with  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel,  March  23, 1780. 
Was  voted  a  medal  by  Congress  for  his  gallantry  at  the  Battle  of  the  Cow- 
pens.  Later  being  attached  to  the  army  of  General  Nathanael  Greene,  he 
took  an  active  part  in  the  battles  of  Guilford  Court  House  and  Hobkirk's 

127 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

and  Mr.  Rutledge,  son  of  the  then  Chief  Justice  of  South 
Carolina,  who  had  come  as  a  delegation  to  accompany 
him  first  into  Georgetown,  and  later  into  Charleston. 
Colonel  Washington  was  the  bearer  of  the  following  letter 
to  the  President  from  Governor  Charles  Pinckney : 1 

Hill.  At  the  Battle  of  Eutaw  Springs,  September  8,  178 1,  he  was  wounded 
and  captured.  Towards  the  close  of  the  Revolution  he  was  married  to  Jane 
Riley  Elliott,  who  acquired  the  Sandy  Hill  estate  under  the  will  of  her 
father,  Charles  Elliott,  who  died  in  1781.  After  the  Revolution  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  South  Carolina  legislature.  In  1798,  when  the  United 
States  was  threatened  with  war  by  France,  George  Washington  recom- 
mended the  appointment  of  his  kinsman  as  brigadier-general,  which  was 
done  July  19,  1798.  After  his  marriage,  he  became  a  planter.  He  died  at 
Sandy  Hill  in  St.  Paul's  Parish,  South  Carolina,  March  16,  1810.  On  the 
occasion  of  his  death  the  American  Revolution  Society  of  South  Carolina 
adopted  resolutions  in  which  he  was  spoken  of  as: "  Modest  without  timid- 
ity, generous  without  extravagance,  brave  without  rashness,  and  disinter- 
ested without  austerity;  which  imparted  firmness  to  his  conduct  and  mild- 
ness to  his  manners,  solidity  to  his  judgment  and  boldness  to  his  achieve- 
ments; which  armed  him  with  an  equanimity  unalterable  by  the  frowns  of 
adversity  or  the  smiles  of  fortune,  and  steadiness  of  soul  not  to  be  subdued 
by  the  disasters  of  defeat  or  elated  by  the  triumphs  of  victory."  Consult 
H.  A.  M.  Smith:  "Grave  of  Col.  William  Washington,"  in  South  Carolina 
Historical  and  Genealogical  Magazine,  x,  243;  Garden's  Anecdotes;  William 
and  Mary  Quarterly,  xv,  132-34. 

1  Charles  Pinckney:  born  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  1758;  died  there 
October  29,  1824.  Grandson  of  William  Pinckney  and  uncle  of  Charles 
Cotesworth  Pinckney.  Educated  for  the  bar.  Taken  prisoner  at  capture 
of  Charleston;  remained  prisoner  until  end  of  war.  Elected  to  Provincial 
Congress  in  1785,  and  subsequently  took  an  active  part  in  preparing  a  plan 
of  government  for  the  United  States.  In  1787  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Con- 
stitutional Convention,  Philadelphia;  presented  there  the  draft  of  a  consti- 
tution, some  of  the  provisions  of  which  were  adopted.  He  advocated  ratifica- 
tion of  the  Constitution  in  the  South  Carolina  Convention  in  1788.  Elected 
Governor  in  1784,  and  presided  over  State  Convention  by  which  the  South 
Carolina  Constitution  was  adopted  in  1790;  reelected  Governor  in  1791,  in 
1796,  and  in  1804.  In  1798  chosen  United  States  Senator  as,  Republican. 
He  was  an  able  speaker  and  one  of  the  most  active  supporters  of  Thomas 
Jefferson  for  the  Presidency.  In  1802-03  ne  was  Minister  to  Spain.  He 
strongly  favored  war  with  England  in  1812.  He  was  founder  of  the  old 
Republican  party  in  South  Carolina.  Was  very  liberal  in  all  his  views;  first 
Governor  of  State  to  advocate  establishment  of  free  schools. 

Governor  Pinckney  had  a  country  estate  in  Christ  Church  Parish,  near 

128 


Wilmington  and  Georgetown 

Dear  Sir, 

Hearing  that  Colonel  Washington  will  set  out  in  a  few  days 
to  meet  you  at  Waccamaw  I  take  the  liberty  of  acquainting 
you  that  I  have  requested  General  Moultrie  to  ask  the  favour 
of  yourself  &  the  gentlemen  of  your  family  to  dine  with  me 
on  the  day  of  your  arrival  in  Charleston  —  the  arrange- 
ments for  the  other  days  the  General  will  shew  you,  & 
I  trust  they  will  prove  acceptable.  You  may  be  assured  that 
the  people  of  this  country  feel  themselves  on  this  occasion  so 
strongly  bound  by  every  principle  of  gratitude  &  affection 
that  no  exertion  will  be  wanting  on  their  part  to  render  your 
stay  among  us  as  agreeable  as  possible. 

In  your  way  down  General  Moultrie  will  request  you  to 
make  a  stage  at  a  little  farm  of  mine  in  Christ  Church  a  few 
miles  distant  from  hence.  I  must  apologize  for  asking  you  to 
call  at  a  place  so  indifferently  furnished,  &  where  your  fare 
will  be  entirely  that  of  a  farm.  It  is  a  place  I  seldom  go  to,  or 
things  perhaps  would  be  in  better  order  —  but  such  as  they 
are,  they  are  very  much  at  your  service,  &  I  hope  you  will 
consider  yourself  when  there  as  at  home  —  as  soon  as  I  know 
the  day  you  are  to  be  there  I  shall  request  a  gentleman  to  go 
over  &  meet  you. 

I  am  Dear  Sir,  with  esteem 

&  respect,  much  obliged 

Yours  truly 

Charles  Pinckney 
April  26,  1 791 

Meeting  Street. 
(Endorsed:) 
From  His  Excels  Govr  Pinckney 

26th  April  1791 
Addressed:  To  the  President  of  the  United  States 
Honoured  by  Colonel  Washington.1 

the  parish  church,  called  "Fee  Farm,"  later  "Snee  Farm."  It  was  here 
that  the  British  allowed  Colonel  C.  C.  Pinckney  to  reside  for  a  time,  when 
a  prisoner  of  war  after  the  fall  of  Charles  Town.  (Consult  "The  Hon. 
Charles  Pinckney,  LL.D.,"  by  W.  S.  Elliott,  in  De  Bow's  Review.) 

1  This  letter,  the  original  of  which  is  in  the  Library  of  Congress,  has  not 
hitherto,  it  is  believed,  been  published. 

129 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

The  whole  party  dined  and  lodged  at  the  home  of 
Captain  Alston,  and  set  out  bright  and  early  next  morning 
for  Georgetown. 

The  boats  being  in  readiness,  the  President  and  suite 
were  rowed  across  the  Waccamaw  River,  descending  it  for 
three  miles,  in  an  "  elegant  painted  boat "  manned  by  seven 
captains  of  vessels,  dressed  in  "  round  hats  trimmed  with 
gold  lace,  blue  coats,  and  white  jackets."  On  arriving  op- 
posite the  market,  they  were  saluted  by  the  artillery,  with 
fifteen  guns,  from  the  foot  of  Broad  Street.  At  the  land- 
ing the  Light  Infantry  Company — "handsomely  uni- 
formed," notes  Washington  —  stood  with  presented  arms; 
and  immediately  after  he  passed,  fired  thirteen  rounds. 
It  was  very  lucky  that  the  father  of  his  country  had  often 
been  "in  the  midst  of  war's  alarms"  —  otherwise  he 
might  have  proved  somewhat  gun-shy  in  times  of  peace 
from  all  the  firing  which  went  on,  often  unexpectedly,  all 
around  him  — 

Cannon  to  right  of  him, 
Cannon  to  left  of  him, 
Cannon  behind  him 
Volley'd  and  thunder'd. 

A  committee,  appointed  to  receive  and  address  him,  now 
conducted  him  to  "an  elegant  house  prepared  by  the  in- 
habitants for  his  reception"  —  said  to  be  the  old  Allston 
house.1  At  two  o'clock,  he  was  waited  upon  by  the  same 

1  This  house,  still  in  a  state  of  good  preservation,  is  situated  on  Front 
Street,  between  Wood  and  King  Streets.  It  is  on  the  water  front,  that 
is,  directly  on  the  Sampit  River,  toward  the  western  end  of  the  old  town. 
The  present  owners,  the  Pyatts,  are  lineal  descendants  of  Benjamin  Allston 

130 


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Wilmington  and  Georgetown 

committee,  the  chairman  of  which  read  to  him  the  follow- 
ing congratulatory  address  of  the  inhabitants  of  George- 
town and  its  vicinity: 

Sir 

We,  the  inhabitants  of  Georgetown,  and  of  its  vicinity,  beg 
leave  to  congratulate  you  upon  your  safe  arrival  in  South 
Carolina,  and  to  assure  you,  that  having  ever  entertained  a 
high  sense  of  the  obligations  which  you  have  conferred  upon 
your  fellow-citizens  in  general,  we  are  happy  to  embrace  this 
opportunity  of  testifying  to  you  our  particular  sentiments  of 
gratitude  and  of  affection;  We  are  no  less  happy,  Sir,  at  being 
called  upon  by  the  laws  to  obey,  and  to  respect  as  first  Magis- 
trate of  the  Federal  Republic,  that  person,  whom  of  all  men 
we  were  most  disposed  to  revere  as  our  benefactor,  and  to 
love  as  the  father  of  his  country.  Having  shared  in  the  dis- 
tresses of  the  war,  and  been  exposed  to  those  calamities,  and 
to  that  loss  of  property,  which  were  the  consequences  of  it,  we 
have  been  taught  to  set  a  proper  value  upon  the  exertions 
which  were  made  in  our  behalf,  we  have  experienced  the  happy 
influence  of  your  councils,  Sir,  and  have  distinguished  you  as 
the  guardian  of  our  laws,  and  of  our  liberties,  as  an  instru- 
ment in  the  hands  of  providence  to  protect  our  dearest  rights, 
and  to  save  us  from  oppression.  The  breath  of  popular  ap- 
plause is  fleeting,  but  the  merits  of  such  illustrious  actions 
can  never  be  effaced;  they  carry  along  with  them  their  best 
reward,  and  we  trust,  Sir,  that  in  pursuing  your  progress 
through  this  state,  you  will  have  the  satisfaction  to  perceive  a 
spirit  of  freedom,  which  your  services  during  the  war  enabled 

(born  1765),  who  originally  purchased  the  house  from  his  nephew.  This 
Benjamin  Allston,  who  as  a  lad  had  served  under  Marion,  was  called 
"Big  Ben"  to  distinguish  him  from  the  father  of  Governor  Robert 
Francis  Withers  Allston,  who  was  designated  "Little  Ben."  It  is  said 
that  Dorothy  Singleton,  widow  of  Colonel  Singleton  and  second  wife  of 
Benjamin  Allston,  was  the  prototype  of  the  heroine  of  William  Gilmore 
Simms's  novel,  Katherine  Walton.  For  information  concerning  this  house 
I  am  indebted  to  Miss  Minnie  Tamplet  Hazard,  of  Georgetown.  For  a 
full  description  of  the  house,  consult  Harriette  K.  Leiding:  Historic 
Houses  of  South  Carolina. 

131 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

us  to  maintain;  a  degree  of  order  and  tranquility,  which 
your  administration  has  diffused,  and  a  growing  prosperity, 
than  which  no  better  proof  could  exist,  of  the  goodness  and 
efficacy  of  that  government,  over  which  you  preside. 

Such,  sir,  are  the  sentiments  with  which  we  approach  you 
upon  this  occasion,  and  such  the  sentiments  which  we  shall  in 
honor,  and  in  gratitude  transmit  to  our  latest  posterity. 

Signed  by  order  of  the  inhabitants  of  Georgetown,  and  its 
vicinity. 

Hugh  Horry 
Joseph  Blyth 

E.  Rothmaler 

F.  Kin  loch 
George  Keith 
Matthew  Irvine 
R.  Brownfield 
Samuel  Smith  l 

1  Hugh  Horry  was  a  dashing  cavalry  officer  and  partisan  leader  under 
General  Francis  Marion.  He  served  brilliantly  in  many  engagements 
throughout  the  Revolution.  In  1782  he  was  a  member  of  the  famous  Jack- 
sonborough  Convention. 

Joseph  Blyth  was  a  large  landowner  and  a  prominent  citizen  of  George- 
town. He  filled  with  credit  many  different  offices  in  the  county.  He  was 
married  to  Elizabeth  Frances,  daughter  of  William  and  Sabina  (Atchison) 
Allston.    He  is  buried  in  the  churchyard  of  Prince  George's  parish. 

Erasmus  Rothmahler  was  a  descendant  of  Job  Rothmahler,  Esq.,  of 
Charleston,  for  many  years  clerk  of  the  Council  of  South  Carolina.  He  had 
large  holdings  of  land  near  Georgetown.  He  was  connected  with  the  Wragg 
and  Trapier  families. 

Francis  Kinloch,  who  studied  at  Eton  and  Lincoln's  Inn,  completed  his 
education  in  France  and  Switzerland.  Handsome,  clever,  a  devotee  of  soci- 
ety, letters,  and  art,  he  was  destined  for  a  diplomatic  career;  but  was  re- 
called to  America  on  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution.  In  that  war  he  served 
as  aide-de-camp  to  Generals  Huger  and  Moultrie;  and  was  engaged  in  the 
fight  at  Beaufort  in  1779,  the  assault  on  Savannah,  and  in  other  actions. 
In  company  with  his  comrade  and  close  friend,  Colonel  John  Laurens,  he 
served  for  a  time  in  the  field  with  Washington.  During  Simcoe's  raid  he  was 
captured  by  his  cousin,  Captain  Kinloch  of  the  British  army.  He  was  twice 
married:  to  Mildred,  daughter  of  John  Walker,  of  Castle  Hill,  in  Virginia; 
and  to  Martha,  daughter  of  Governor  John  Rutledge,  the  virtual  dictator  of 
South  Carolina  during  a  critical  period  of  the  Revolution.  At  one  time  he 

132 


Wilmington  and  Georgetown 

To  this  congratulatory  address,  Washington  made  the 
following  felicitous  reply:1 

Gentlemen, 

I  receive  your  congratulations  on  my  arrival  in  South- 
Carolina  with  real  pleasure,  and  I  confess  my  obligations  to 
your  affectionate  regard  with  sincere  gratitude. 

While  the  calamities,  to  which  you  were  exposed  during 
the  war,  excited  all  my  sympathy,  the  gallantry  and  firmness 
with  which  they  were  encountered  obtained  my  entire  es- 
teem; to  your  fortitude  in  those  trying  scenes  our  country  is 
much  indebted  for  the  happy  and  honourable  issue  of  the 
contest  —  from  the  milder  virtues  that  characterise  your 
conduct  in  peace,  our  equal  government  will  derive  those  aids, 
which  may  render  its  operations  extensively  beneficial. 

That  your  participation  of  every  national  advantage,  and 
your  prosperity  in  private  life,  may  be  amply  proportioned  to 
your  past  services  and  sufferings,  is  my  sincere  and  fervent 
wish.  George  Washington. 

Immediately  following  this  ceremony  came  another  — 
conducted  by  a  committee  of  Masons  from  Prince  George's 
Lodge,  No.  16  (Moderns)  of  Georgetown.  "This  Lodge," 
says  Sachse,  "was  one  of  the  original  six  Lodges,  which 
had  been  warrented  prior  to  1756  in  South  Carolina,  un- 
der the  Jurisdiction  of  the  Provincial  Grand  Lodge,  and 

was  a  member  of  Congress;  and  in  1800  he  published  a  memoir  on  Washing- 
ton (quoted  elsewhere)  whom  he  had  known  intimately.  He  died  in  Charles- 
ton in  1822,  and  is  buried  in  St.  Michael's  churchyard. 

George  Keith  and  Matthew  Irvine  were  both  possessed  of  large  tracts  of 
land  in  the  vicinity  of  Georgetown  and  Charleston. 

Robert  Brownfield,  then  or  afterwards  of  the  High  Hills  of  Santee,  was 
connected  with  the  Sumter  family. 

Samuel  Smith,  it  appears,  was  a  merchant  of  Georgetown. 

1  The  original  of  Washington's  answer,  in  the  handwriting  of  Major 
Jackson  and  with  Washington's  autograph  signature,  is  preserved  in  the 
archives  of  the  Winyah  Indigo  Society.  For  the  photographic  copy  here- 
with reproduced,  I  am  indebted  to  W.  D.  Morgan,  Esq. 

133 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

through  it,  the  Grand  Lodge  of  England.  It  is  the  .only 
instance  where  a  Lodge  of  the  'Moderns'  addressed 
Brother  Washington."   Follows  the  address: 

To  our  Illustrious  Brother  George  Washington, 
President  of  the  United  States. 

At  a  time  when  all  men  are  emulous  to  approach  you  to  ex- 
press the  lively  sensations  you  inspire  as  the  Father  of  our 
country.  Permit  us  the  Brethren  of  Prince  George's  Lodge 
No.  1 6  to  have  our  share  in  the  general  happiness  in  welcom- 
ing you  to  Georgetown,  and  the  pleasure  of  reflecting  that  we 
behold  in  you  the  liberator  of  our  country,  the  distributor  of 
its  equal  laws,  and  a  Brother  of  our  most  ancient  and  most 
honorable  Order. 

At  the  same  time  indulge  us  in  congratulating  you  on  the 
truly  honorable  and  happy  situation  in  which  you  now  stand, 
as  the  Grand  Conductor  of  the  political  interests  of  these 
United  States. 

Having  by  your  manly  efforts  caused  the  beauteous  light 
of  liberty  to  beam  on  this  western  hemisphere,  and  by  the 
wisdom  Heaven  has  graciously  endowed  you  with  estab- 
lished the  liberties  of  America  on  the  justest  and  firmest 
basis  that  was  ever  yet  recorded  in  the  annals  of  history, 
you  now  enjoy  the  supremest  of  all  earthly  happiness  that 
of  diffusing  peace,  liberty,  and  safety  to  millions  of  your 
fellow-citizens. 

As  a  true  reward  for  your  patriotic,  noble  and  exalted  serv- 
ices we  fervently  pray  the  Grand  Architect  of  the  universe 
long  to  bless  you  with  health,  stability,  and  power  to  continue 
you  the  Grand  Pillar  of  the  arch  of  liberty  in  this  vast  empire, 
which  you  have  been  so  eminently  distinguished  in  raising  to 
this  pitch  of  perfection  at  which  we  now  behold  it. 

May  the  residue  of  your  life  be  spent  in  ease  content  and 
happiness,  and  as  the  Great  Parent  of  these  United  States 
may  you  long  live  to  see  your  children  flourish  under  your 
happy  auspices  and  may  you  be  finally  rewarded  with  eternal 
happiness. 

We  conclude  our  present  address  with  a  fervent  wish  that 

134 


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Committee  from 
Prince  George's  Lodge. 


Wilmington  and  Georgetown 

you  will  continue  as  you  have  hitherto  been,  the  friend  of  our 
ancient  and  honorable  Order,  and  of  all  worthy  Masons. 

I.  White 
R.  Grant 
A.  Cohen 
Jos.  Blyth. 
J.  Carson. 
George  Town  joth  April  1791.1 

To  this  address,  the  President  made  the  following  brief 
reply: 

To  the  Brethren  of  Prince  George's  Lodge,  No.  16. 
Gentlemen: 

The  cordial  welcome  which  you  give  me  to  George  Town, 
and  the  congratulations,  you  are  pleased  to  offer  on  my  elec- 
tion to  the  chief  magistracy  receive  my  grateful  thanks. 

I  am  much  obliged  by  your  good  wishes  and  reciprocate 
them  with  sincerity,  assuring  the  fraternity  of  my  esteem,  I 
request  them  to  believe  that  I  shall  always  be  ambitious  of 
being  considered  a  deserving  Brother. 

G.  Washington.2 

At  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  —  how  hungry  Wash- 
ington must  have  been  by  this  time,  not  to  say  thirsty, 
after  so  long  a  wait  and  such  long-winded  addresses!  —  he 
"honoured  the  citizens  with  his  company  at  a  public 
dinner."  The  following  toasts  were  given: 

1.  The  United  States  of  America. 

2.  The  Grand  Council  of  the  Union. 

1  Of  the  above  signers,  three  had  served  in  the  War  for  Independence, 
namely:  Isaac  White,  Lieutenant  in  North  Carolina  Militia  at  King's 
Mountain;  Reuben  Grant,  Ensign  in  the  6th  North  Carolina  Infantry;  and 
Joseph  Blythe,  Surgeon  in  1st  North  Carolina  Regiment;  taken  prisoner 
at  Charleston,  May  12,  1789;  exchanged  June  14,  1789;  in  4th  North  Caro- 
lina in  February,  1782,  and  served  to  close  of  war. 

2  Washington  MSS.;  Letter  Book  No.  II,  folio  60-61. 

135 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

3.  The  King  of  France  our  great  and  good  ally. 

4.  The  National  Assembly  of  France. 

5.  The  memory  of  Major  General  Greene. 

6.  The  memory  of  M.  G.  Baron  de  Kalb. 

7.  The  other  brave  officers  and  soldiers  who  fell  in  the  war. 

8.  The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  may  the  es- 
teem and  gratitude  of  his  country  be  equal  to  those  im- 
portant services  which  he  has,  and  continues  to  render 
her. 

9.  Our  ministers  in  foreign  countries. 

10.  The  Federal  Government. 

11.  The  State  of  South-Carolina. 

12.  The  Marquis  de  la  Fayette. 

13.  May  the  nations  of  the  earth  enjoy  an  equal  happiness 
with  us  in  having  rulers  equally  sedulous  to  make  them- 
selves acquainted  with  the  true  interests  and  situations 
of  the  people. 

1 4.  The  Governors  and  Legislatures  of  the  respective 
States. 

The  President  then  retired,  and  the  following  toast  was 
given : 

Our  Illustrious  President,  may  calmness,  peace  and  fe- 
licity, bless  the  evening  of  his  life,  as  his  youth  and  middle 
age  have  been  glorious  by  the  most  exalted  achievements  of 
military  renown. 

The  day's  festivities  were  closed  with  a  tea-party  in  the 
afternoon,  at  which  Washington  was  introduced  to  about 
fifty  ladies  who  had  assembled  on  the  occasion ;  (why  does 
Washington  spell  "gentlemen"  with  a  capital  G,  "ladies" 
with  a  small  /?)  and  with  a  ball  in  the  evening  which  the 
President  honored  with  his  company. 

In  his  diary  under  date  Saturday,  April  30th,  Washing- 
ton makes  the  following  entry: 

136 


Wilmington  and  Georgetown 

George  Town  seems  to  be  in  the  shade  of  Charleston  —  It 
suffered  during  the  War  by  the  British,  having  had  many  of 
its  Houses  burnt.  —  It  is  situated  on  a  pininsula  betwn.  the 
River  Waccamaw  and  Sampton  Creek  about  15  miles  from 
the  Sea  —  a  bar  is  to  be  passed,  over  which  not  more  than  12 
feet  water  can  be  brot.  except  at  Spring  tides;  which  (tho'  the 
Inhabitants  are  willing  to  entertain  different  ideas,)  must 
ever  be  a  considerable  let  to  its  importance;  especially  if 
the  cut  between  the  Santee  and  Cooper  Rivers,  should  ever 
be  accomplished. 

The  Inhabitants  of  this  place  (either  unwilling  or  unable) 
could  give  no  account  of  the  number  of  Souls  in  it,  but  I 
should  not  compute  them  at  more  than  5  or  600.  —  Its  chief 
export,  Rice. 

Accompanied  by  Major  Thomas  Pinckney,1  his  good 
friend  and  a  distinguished  American,  Washington  set  out 
at  six  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  Sunday,  May  1st.  The 
President's  coach  had  as  outriders  on  this  occasion  Gen- 
eral William  Moultrie,  Colonel  William  Washington,  and 
Mr.  Rutledge,  son  of  the  Chief  Justice  of  South  Carolina. 
The  party  first  crossed  the  Santee  Creek  at  Georgetown, 
and,  after  travelling  twelve  miles,  crossed  the  Santee 
River.  They  were  bound  for  "Hampton,"  the  home  of  the 

1  Thomas  Pinckney,  born  in  Charleston,  October  23,  1750;  died  there 
November  2,  1828.  Educated  at  Westminster  and  Oxford.  Studied  law  at 
the  Temple,  England.  Practised  law  in  Charleston.  Joined  Continental 
Army  as  lieutenant  in  1775;  was  aide-de-camp  to  Brigadier-General  Lincoln, 
to  d'Estaing,  and  also  to  General  Gates.  Was  wounded  and  taken  prisoner 
at  Camden,  and  saw  no  further  service.  Governor  of  South  Carolina,  1789. 
In  1792  he  was  appointed  by  Washington  Minister  to  Great  Britain.  In 
1794  he  was  sent  on  a  mission  to  Spain  and  arranged  the  Treaty  of  San 
Ildefonso.  He  was  Federalist  candidate  for  Vice-President  in  1796  and  was 
in  Congress,  1 799-1 801.  Was  appointed  Major-General  by  Madison  at  the 
beginning  of  the  war  in  1812;  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Horseshoe  Bend. 
He  succeeded  his  brother  as  fourth  President  General  of  the  Society  of  the 
Cincinnati. 

137 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

widow  of  Colonel  Daniel  Horry,  who  had  served  during 
the  first  five  years  of  the  Revolution.  This  lady  was 
Harriott  Pinckney  Horry,  the  sister  of  Major  Thomas 
Pinckney  and  General  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney. 
Her  m  )ther,  who  assisted  her  in  entertaining  the  Presi- 
dent, was  the  remarkable  character  known  in  American 
annals  as  Eliza  Pinckney. 

The  coach  and  cavalcade  moved  in  stately  procession  up 
the  long  avenue  of  a  mile  or  more  in  length  leading  to  the 
handsome  colonial  mansion,  "Hampton."  It  was  built  in 
1730,  of  yellow  pine  and  cypress,  over  a  brick  foundation, 
by  Mrs.  Daniel  Horry,  the  widow  of  the  French  Huguenot 
who  came  to  this  country  in  1686.  Standing  a  mile  east  of 
the  original  Horry  house,  it  faces,  says  Mrs.  Leiding,  a 
"wide  lawn  dotted  by  those  sentinels  of  the  centuries 
which,  with  the  white  mansion,  its  lofty  portico  and  its 
simple,  but  beautiful  pediment  supported  by  heavy 
columns,  in  its  setting  of  giant  oaks  hung  with  Spanish 
moss,  make  a  charming  and  impressive  picture."  Upon 
the  spacious  porch,  twenty  by  forty  feet  long,  stood  the 
ladies  in  the  bright  garb  of  summer  —  Eliza  Lucas  Pinck- 
ney, famous  in  our  history  for  charm  of  personality,  force 
of  character,  and  for  her  notable  contribution  to  agricul- 
ture through  the  successful  introduction  of  indigo  into 
South  Carolina;  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Horry,  the  gracious 
hostess;  her  granddaughter,  Harriott  Horry,  and  two  other 
granddaughters  who  made  "Hampton"  their  home,  the 
daughters  of  General  C.  C.  Pinckney. 

After  the  first  greetings  were  over,  the  hungry  travellers 

138 


GENERAL  THOMAS   PINCKNEY 


HAMPTON 


THE  WASHINGTON   OAK,       HAMPTON 


Wilmington  and  Georgetown 

were  ushered  into  the  great  ballroom,  occupying  the  entire 
east  wing  of  the  house  and  containing  an  immense  carved 
chimney-place  lined  with  Dutch  tiles  in  which,  it  is  said, 
five  persons  could  stand.  Here  the  assembled  company  sat 
down  at  a  long  table,  and  did  full  justice  to  a  breakfast  con- 
sisting of  a  most  bountiful  and  palatable  "best  the  country 
could  afford."  Breakfast  over,  the  party  gathered  upon 
the  spacious  veranda  or  wandered  through  the  grounds. 
The  General  was  rarely  entertained  by  Mrs.  Pinckney's 
informing  conversation  on  agriculture  and  her  own  suc- 
cessful management  of  a  great  rice  plantation;  and  by  Mrs. 
Horry's  tales  of  the  Revolution  —  of  the  "Swamp  Fox," 
Marion,  who  made  this  home  his  headquarters  while  in 
the  neighborhood  and  here  once  narrowly  escaped  capture 
by  the  British;  and  of  Tarleton,  who  was  once  quartered 
here  and  on  his  departure  forgetfully  carried  off  a  beau- 
tiful copy  of  the  Baskerville  edition  of  Milton,  bound  in 
crimson  and  gold ! 

Pointing  to  a  young  and  vigorous  live-oak  growing  in 
front  of  the  house,  which,  after  it  had  grown  older  and  the 
branches  spread  wide,  she  thought  might  greatly  obstruct 
the  view  from  the  avenue  of  the  fine  portico  which  had  just 
been  erected,  Mrs.  Horry  informed  the  General  she  in- 
tended to  cut  it  down.  Looking  the  spot  over  carefully, 
the  General  replied:  "Mrs.  Horry,  let  it  stay.  It  can  do  no 
harm  where  it  is  and  I  would  not  think  of  cutting  it  down." 
This  mighty  monarch  of  the  forest  —  just  thirty  steps 
from  the  portico  and  twenty-six  feet  around  at  a  height 
of  six  feet  above  the  ground  and  just  below  the  limbs  — 

139 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

still  stands  as  a  memorial  to  the  man  who,  in  this  way,  has 
made  historic  reparation  for  the  traditionary  felling  of  a 
cherry  tree  early  in  his  career.1 

Amid  such  beautiful  surroundings  and  in  such  charming 
company,  Washington  doubtless  was  reluctant  to  con- 
tinue his  journey.  But  after  a  sumptuous  dinner,  the  party 
moved  on,  travelling  nineteen  miles  farther  to  "Marsh- 
lands," the  plantation  of  that  cultured  gentleman  of 
French  Huguenot  ancestry,  Gabriel  Manigault.2  The 
Manigault  family  had  long  been  distinguished  for  culture, 
public  service,  and  patriotism  in  the  social  and  political 
life  of  South  Carolina.  Gabriel  Manigault,  the  grand- 
father of  Washington's  host,  was  for  many  years  a  pros- 
perous merchant  in  Charleston,  having  succeeded  to  the 
business  of  his  father,  Peter.  Married  to  Ann  Ashley  in 
1730,  he  became  the  father  of  one  son,  Peter,  who  studied 
law  at  the  Inner  Temple,  London,  and  was  three  times 
Speaker  of  the  Commons,  South  Carolina  Assembly.  He 
died  in  London,  whither  he  had  gone  to  regain  his  health, 

1  For  information  concerning  Washington's  visit  to  "Hampton,"  I  am 
indebted  to  the  late  Colonel  H.  M.  Rutledge,  of  McClellansville,  South 
Carolina,  former  owner  of  "Hampton";  to  his  son,  Archibald  Rutledge, 
Esq.;  to  Mrs.  H.  K.  Leiding,  who  has  made  a  special  study  of  the  historic 
houses  of  South  Carolina;  and  to  the  delightful  book,  Eliza  Pinckney,  by 
Mrs.  St.  Julien  Ravenel.  Doubtless  Mrs.  Pinckney  sided  with  Washington 
in  favor  of  preserving  the  tree;  for  in  one  of  her  letters  to  Mrs.  Onslow 
she  says:  "I  look  .  .  .  upon  an  old  oak  with  the  reverencial  esteem  of  a 
Druid,  it  staggered  my  philosophy  to  bear  with  patience  the  Cuting  down 
one  remarkable  fine  tree. . . ."  It  is  worthy  of  mention  that  Washington  held 
Mrs.  Eliza  Pinckney  in  great  esteem;  and  at  his  own  request  acted  as  pall- 
bearer at  her  funeral  in  Philadelphia,  May  27, 1 793.  The  Wedgwood  break- 
fast set,  green  and  white,  of  very  delicate  design,  which  was  used  for  Gen- 
eral Washington  at  "Hampton"  is  still  preserved  almost  intact. 

2  In  his  diary  Washington  speaks  of  him  as  "Mr.  Manigold." 

I40 


Wilmington  and  Georgetown 

in  1773 ;  and  his  father  Gabriel  dying  in  1781,  his  two  sons 
Gabriel  and  Joseph  became  heirs  to  the  extensive  property 
in  business,  money,  and  lands.  Washington  must  have 
been  sensibly  moved  by  the  touching  story  of  the  old 
Gabriel  Manigault,  himself  seventy-five,  appearing  with 
his  grandson,  Joseph,  aged  fifteen,  upon  the  ramparts  of 
the  defences  of  Charleston  when  it  was  threatened  by 
Provost  in  1779  —  each  with  a  musket  on  his  shoulder,  to 
assist  in  the  defence  of  the  city.  This  Gabriel  Manigault 
was  Treasurer  of  the  Province  of  South  Carolina;  and 
being  possessed  of  a  great  fortune,  he  lent  to  the  State  the 
sum  of  two  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars,  most  of 
which  was  never  returned. 

The  house  at  "Marshlands,"  which  welcomed  Washing- 
ton with  open  arms,  was  a  fine  example  of  the  architecture 
of  the  period,  spacious  and  imposing,  substantially  built, 
with  a  brick  basement.  Washington's  host,  Gabriel,  who 
had  completed  his  education  in  Geneva  and  London,  was 
married  to  the  daughter  of  Ralph  Izard,  Washington's 
trusted  friend,  and  Alice  DeLancey  of  the  distinguished 
New  York  family.  The  hostess  at  "Marshlands"  was  a 
woman  of  cosmopolitan  culture  and  experience,  having 
spent  seven  years  at  school  in  London,  Brussels,  and 
Paris.  At  "Marshlands,"  she  and  her  husband  enter- 
tained with  all  the  gracious  charm  and  lavish  hospitality  so 
characteristic  of  the  Old  South.  In  this  delightful  home, 
situated  on  the  Cooper  River  about  six  miles  from  Charles- 
ton, Washington  passed  a  memorable  evening  —  resting 

the  night  here  before  beginning  the  week  of  strenuous 

141 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

gaiety  and  royal  entertainment  awaiting  him  in  hospitable 
Charleston.1 

Among  the  many  eulogies  delivered  on  the  occasion  of 
Washington's  death,  that  one  delivered  at  Georgetown  by 
Francis  Kinloch,  sometime  member  of  Congress,  possesses 
unique  interest  in  its  explicit  reference  to  Washington's 
visit  which  evidently  was  attended  by  every  demonstra- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  public,  of  love  for  and  admiration 
of  their  Chief  Magistrate.  The  passage  in  question  is 
quoted : 

It  is  proper  in  all  nations  that  those  who  represent  the  maj- 
esty of  the  people  should  be  at  times  encircled  with  the  en- 
signs of  authority,  and  that  the  splendour  of  the  government 
they  administer  should  be  in  some  measure  apparent  in  their 
persons;  and  here,  my  fellow  citizens,  let  me  call  to  your  re- 
membrance, for  we  have  possessed  him  amongst  us,  let  me 
call  to  your  remembrance  the  plain,  and  yet  dignified  deport- 
ment of  him  whose  loss  we  deplore  —  it  was  not  a  trium- 
phant General  who  came  amongst  us,  nor  yet  the  semblance 
of  a  monarch;  it  was  the  first  magistrate  of  a  free  people,  it 
was  a  father  who  visited  his  children,  who  delighted  in  their 
caresses,  and  who  kindly  accepted  of  their  efforts  to  please, 
and  to  entertain  him.   With  what  joy  was  he  not  received, 

1  For  interesting  accounts  of  the  Manigault  family,  consult  South  Caro- 
lina Historical  and  Genealogical  Magazine,  xn,  116-77;  Transactions  of  the 
Huguenot  Society  of  South  Carolina,  No.  4  (1897),  48-84;  Ramsay's  History 
of  South  Carolina,  sketches  at  end  of  work.  "  Marshlands  "  remained  in  the 
Manigault  family  until  comparatively  recent  years,  when  it  was  sold  by 
Gabriel  Manigault's  grandson,  the  late  Dr.  Gabriel  E.  Manigault,  Profes- 
sor of  Natural  History.  Taken  over  by  the  United  States  Government  as 
part  of  the  Charleston  Navy  Yard  reservation,  the  house  in  which  Washing- 
ton was  entertained  has  since  been  thoroughly  restored,  and  is  now  used  as 
quarters  for  officers  of  the  United  States  Navy.  Washington's  host,  Ga- 
briel Manigault,  was  born  in  1758,  and  died  in  1 809.  His  mother  was  Eliza- 
beth, daughter  of  Joseph  Wragg,  Esq.,  of  Charleston;  and  she  was  married 
to  Peter  Manigault  in  1755. 

I42 


Wilmington  and  Georgetown 

with  what  ardour  was  he  not  addressed  by  all  ranks  and  orders 
of  people!  And  how  readily  does  the  public  imagination 
surround  him  with  trophies  of  victory,  and  convert  the  un- 
adorned vehicle  which  conveyed  him  into  a  car  of  triumph! 
Behold,  said  they  —  but  why  should  I  borrow  the  language 
of  admiration?  No,  let  me  rather  recall  your  minds  to  the 
melancholy  truth,  and  let  us  remember,  that  the  father  of  his 
country  now  lies  mingled  with  the  dust!  The  ornaments  of 
eloquence  are  here  unnecessary,  the  simple  accents  which  pro- 
ceed from  the  heart  are  alone  sufficient  —  you  feel  for  your- 
selves, your  children,  your  country. 


I 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  FOURTH  STAGE 

Charleston 
T  is  entirely  in  conformity  with  classic  usage  that  the  ar- 
rival of  the  hero  should  be  heralded  by  paeans  of  praise 
from  the  poets.  One  can  only  regret  that  the  poems  were 
not  more  truly  poetic.  However,  such  a  poem  as  the  one 
printed  below,  which  was  "written  on  the  expected  arrival 
of  our  illustrious  president  by  Michael  Forrest,"  helped 
to  create  "atmosphere"  —  whether  temperate,  torrid,  or 
frigid  will  be  left  an  open  question  for  debate. 

Now  let  some  Shakespear  sweep  the  sounding  lyre 
Or  some  brave  Milton  with  prophetic  fire 
And  soar  aloft  with  some  new  strain  sublime, 
Beyond  the  reach  of  each  dull  creeping  line. 
From  High  Olympus  let  the  gods  descend, 
And  to  this  poet  their  assistance  lend 
While  he  in  strains  heroic  sings  the  fame 
Of  Washington  and  gilds  his  noble  name. 
O  let  the  sacred  nine  their  aid  diffuse 
In  strains  sublime  t'  inspire  his  chanting  muse 
And  may  his  song  the  sleeping  echoes  raise 
From  their  soft  slumber  to  resound  his  praise. 
Till  his  glorious  theme  reaches  every  soul 
From  the  arctic  to  the  antarctic  pole 
But  if  a  genius  with  such  matchless  strain 
Cannot  be  found  to  sing  our  Hero's  fame 
The  Sons  of  Freedom  will  I  hope  excuse 
144 


Charleston 

This  imperfect  strain  from  a  willing  muse 

Come  then  ye  sacred  nine,  inspire  my  song 

With  phrase  sublime  and  gliding  numbers  strong. 

Heroic  measure  teach  me  to  command 

And  justly  praise  the  glory  of  this  land 

George  Washington,  who  though  advanced  in  years, 

Disdained  subjection  to  proud  British  peers; 

But  when  his  country  loudly  called  him  forth, 

Displayed  at  once  his  gallantry  and  worth: 

Of  her  land  forces,  took  the  chief  command, 

And  wisely  ruled  them  with  his  martial  hand; 

Check'd  England's  pride  —  broke  her  despotic  band  — 

And  gained  Freedom  for  his  native  land! 

O,  could  I  sing  his  conduct  thro'  the  whole, 

His  feeling  heart  and  sympathetic  soul; 

His  love  of  freedom  and  his  martial  skill, 

His  pride  to  conquer,  his  dislike  to  kill; 

His  perseverance  in  his  country's  cause 

To  banish  tyrants  and  despotic  laws; 

And  in  a  word  his  patriotic  zeal 

For  his  native  land  and  the  public  weal; 

My  glorious  theme  should  then  on  golden  wing 

Thro'  foreign  climes  and  distant  nations  ring! 

But,  to  do  this,  requires  a  wiser  hand, 

And  higher  strains,  than  I  can  now  command. 

O,  may  no  trifling  bard,  with  creeping  lays 

Ever  attempt  to  sing  his  matchless  praise; 

But  may  some  Milton  full  of  lyric  sound  \ 

Whose  matchless  strain  whole  nations  will  astound  > 

To  sing  his  praises  speedily  be  found!  ) 

He  comes!  —  He  comes!  —  methinks  I  see  him  near; 

Now  Columbians  raise  the  joyful  cheer! 

Ye  sons  of  Freedom  who  revere  his  name, 

Beat  loud  your  drums,  and  sound  the  trump  of  fame! l 

Long  before  Washington's  arrival,  the  people  and  the 

1  City  Gazette,  May  2,  1791. 
145 


Washington* s  Southern  Tour 

officials  of  Charleston  had  been  all  agog  over  the  great 
event.  The  honor  of  Charleston  was  at  stake  —  partic- 
ularly as  this  was  much  the  most  important  city  Washing- 
ton was  to  visit  upon  his  tour.  In  recognition  of  Charles- 
ton's preeminence,  Washington  planned  to  make  the  long- 
est stay  of  his  journey  in  this  beautiful  city  of  which 
Josiah  Quincy  of  Massachusetts  had  written  in  his  diary 
(1773):  "This  town  makes  a  beautiful  appearance  as  you 
come  up  to  it  and  in  many  respects  a  magnificent  one.  I 
can  only  say  in  general  that  in  grandeur  and  splendor 
of  buildings,  decorations,  equipages,  numbers,  commerce, 
shipping,  and  indeed  everything,  it  far  surpasses  all  I  ever 
saw  or  ever  expect  to  see  in  America."  A  very  interesting 
letter  to  Washington  from  Governor  Charles  Pinckney 
is  here  published  in  full : 

Charleston  March  8:  1791 
Dear  Sir: 

Upon  my  return  to  this  City  I  found  your  obligating  Letter 
of  introduction  which  had  been  previously  left  by  Col:  Trum- 
bull at  my  house  during  my  absence  in  attending  the  meeting 
of  the  Legislature  at  Columbia. 

As  soon  as  I  am  sufficiently  recovered  from  my  present  in- 
disposition arising  from  the  accident  of  a  fall  from  my  Car- 
riage I  shall  make  a  point  of  seeing  him  &  endeavoring  to 
make  this  place  as  agreeable  to  him  as  possible.  I  had  an  idea 
at  the  conclusion  of  my  term  of  office  to  have  gone  to  Europe 
&  to  have  done  myself  the  honor  of  paying  you  my  respects 
and  those  of  Mrs.  Pinckney,  as  it  was  my  intention  to  have 
embarked  by  the  way  of  New  York,  but  the  establishment 
of  our  new  Constitution  having  made  me  reeligible  for  two 
years  longer,  &  it  seeming  to  be  the  general  opinion  of  the 
Legislature  that  I  should  continue,  my  sense  of  public  Duty 
would  not  permit  me  to  think  of  refusing  —  after  the  end 

146 


THE  ! IBRARY 

OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  Or  litlKUlS 


Charleston 

however  of  the  present  two  years  I  am  ineligible  for  four, 
when  I  shall  endeavor  at  least  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  north- 
ward —  in  the  interim  we  hope  much  for  the  honour  of  your 
company  in  this  City  —  it  is  said  you  will  probably  be  here 
about  the  20th  of  April  —  if  so  permit  me  to  request  that  you 
will  stay  at  my  house  during  your  residence  where  you  may 
be  assured  no  exertions  of  mine  shall  be  untried  to  make 
everything  as  agreeable  as  we  can.  On  this  point  suffer  me  to 
request  the  favour  of  a  Line  from  you,  as  your  friends  are  ex- 
tremely anxious  to  know  whether  they  are  to  expect  you  in 
the  Spring  or  Fall. 

So  much  has  been  said  on  the  subject  of  the  Creek  Treaty 
&  the  Assumption  of  the  State  Debts  that  I  shall  only  ob- 
serve to  you  in  confidence  that  they  are  both  measures  which 
very  highly  meet  the  approbation,  &  would  I  am  sure  if  neces- 
sary, very  cheerfully  receive  the  support  of  this  State  upon 
every  occasion  —  at  least  this  is  my  opinion  as  far  as  I  have 
been  able  to  collect  the  sentiments  of  those  who  are  the  most 
concerned  &  who  speak  the  most  disinterestedly. 

You  will  certainly  before  this  have  received  Mr.  Rut- 
ledge's  resignation,  as  a  federal  judge,  on  his  having  been  ap- 
pointed Chief  Justice  of  this  State  —  the  reasons  which  in- 
duced this  step  he  has  no  doubt  fully  &  satisfactorily  stated, 
&  if  the  friendship  which  you  have  always  honored  me  with 
may  be  considered  as  giving  me  a  licence  to  say  so  much, 
permit  me  to  wish  that  his  vacancy  may  be  filled  by  some 
other  Gentleman  from  this  State  —  I  do  not  say  this  from 
any  local  or  partial  motives,  but  from  an  idea  that  the  very 
great  weight  &  importance  of  this  country  in  a  commercial 
view  will  probably  engage  more  of  her  citizens  in  concerns 
with  foreigners  than  almost  any  other  State  in  the  Union,  & 
that  it  would  I  should  suppose,  always  be  pleasing  to  them  to 
reflect  that  when  their  suits  were  taken  from  the  tribunal 
&  carried  to  another  acting  under  a  different  authority,  that 
still  a  citizen  of  their  own  was  one  of  the  Judges  —  but  to 
your  better  Judgement  this  is  very  properly  left  &  I  trust 
your  goodness  will  excuse  my  even  having  said  as  much  as 
I  have  —  I  know  the  people  of  this  country  wish  it  —  so 

H7 


Washington* s  Southern  Tour 

do  I  —  but  both  they  &  I  ought  with  pleasure  to  acquiesce  as 
I  am  sure  I  shall  in  any  appointment  you  may  conceive 
proper. 

With  my  best  wishes  for  your  health  &  happiness  I  am 
with  respect  and  Regard 

Dear  Sir 

Yours  Truly 

Charles  Pinckney 
(Endorsed)  From 
His  Exy  Govr  Pinckney 
8th  Mar.  1791 

In  accordance  with  his  fixed  rules  concerning  accepting 
hospitalities,  Washington  declined  Governor  Pinckney's 
invitation  to  be  his  guest  throughout  his  entire  visit,  but 
accepted  his  hospitality :  first  in  breakfasting  at  his  country 
seat,  "Fee  Farm,"  also  the  same  day  dining  at  the  Gov- 
ernor's (in  what  he  called  a  private  way)  "with  15  or  18 
gentlemen,"  and  finally  being  entertained  later  in  the 
week  at  a  magnificent  reception  at  the  Governor's  house 
in  Meeting  Street. 

A  correspondent  writing  from  Charleston  (April  7th) 
says:  "We  are  making  great  preparations  for  the  reception 
of  the  President  of  the  United  States.  —  There  is  to  be  a 
ball  on  the  night  of  his  arrival.  —  What  think  you  of  ioo£: 
for  the  rent  of  a  barn  six  or  eight  days  ?  Sixty  pounds  was 
the  lowest  it  could  be  obtained  for  —  however  I  tell  them 
it  is  wrong  to  engage  one  —  as  the  President  will  not 
deviate  from  his  rule,  which  is,  not  to  take  private 
lodgings."  The  house  chosen  for  Washington's  enter- 
tainment, as  Charles  Fraser  relates  in  his  "Reminis- 
cences," was  "that  large  three-story  house  in  Church 

148 


Charleston 

Street,  a  few  doors  north  of  Tradd,  then  owned  by  Judge 
Heyward,  and  said  to  be  superbly  furnished  for  the  occa- 
sion." This  house,  still  standing,  is  now  a  bakery,  although 
the  owner  declares  he  would  never  have  turned  it  to  such 
utilitarian  uses  had  he  known  that  it  once  housed  the  illus- 
trious Washington.  Day  after  day  articles  appeared  in  the 
local  newspapers  recommending  that  various  preparations 
be  made  —  such  as  that  the  "  commissioners  of  the  roads 
would  display  an  equally  laudable  spirit  [as  that  of  all 
others]  by  having  the  roads  and  bridges  put  in  proper 
repair,  which  in  some  places  are  almost  impassable";  and 
that  the  citizens  of  Charleston  appoint  "a  committee  from 
each  of  their  respective  professions,  to  join  and  consider  a 
mode  for  forming  a  procession  to  meet  and  receive  our 
great  and  good  President  on  landing  in  this  city,  similar  to 
the  one  which  was  formed  on  the  adoption  of  the  federal 
constitution."  Such  a  committee  was  appointed ;  and  the 
report  which  follows  exhibits  the  high  seriousness  and 
civic  pride  with  which  the  citizens  regarded  Washington's 
approaching  visit.  The  prudence  which  the  occasion  de- 
manded was  exhibited  in  the  additional  printed  request  of 
the  Intendant  and  Warders  that  "  the  citizens  will,  not  on 
the  approaching  occasion,  exhibit  any  fireworks  or  illu- 
minations within  the  city,  as  from  the  long,  dry  weather, 
the  shingles  and  wooden  buildings  are  rendered  highly  in- 
flammable." 1 

1  Notices  from  time  to  time  appeared  in  the  City  Gazette,  of  which  the  fol- 
lowing are  specimens: 

Thursday,  April  list. 
A  committee  from  the  city  council  appointed  to  meet  the  several  com- 

I49 


JVashi?igtori*s  Southern  Tour 

The  lavish  preparations  being  made  by  the  city  of 
Charleston  for  the  entertainment  of  the  Nation's  Chief 
Magistrate  attracted  wide  and  favorable  attention 
throughout  the  country  —  a  circumstance  indicative  of 
the  universal  desire  to  accord  Washington  the  highest  con- 
ceivable honors.  In  the  "American  Daily  Advertiser"  of 
Philadelphia,  for  example,  appeared  the  striking  commen- 
tary: 

A  philosopher,  who  has  contemplated  with  due  seriousness; 
the  aggregate  of  incidents  which  have  combined  to  present  a 
novel  character,  in  the  history  of  this  chequered  planet,  its 
heroes  and  its  monarchs,  cannot  resist  some  flow  of  praise, 
but  rather  indulge  the  stream  of  panegyric  on  that  ardour  we 
see  every  hour  displayed  by  the  citizens  of  Charleston  to  re- 
ceive the  President  of  the  United  States  with  magnificence 
which  his  presence  will  adorn,  and  with  that  liberality  and 
splendour  which  is  eminently  their  characteristics.  Every 
head  and  every  hand  are  anxiously  occupied,  each  in  their 
proper  station,  from  the  governor  to  the  mechanic,  devising 
and  executing  such  preparatory  plans  as  may  brighten  the 
lustre  of  hospitality  and  display  their  sensibility  and  affec- 
tionate reverence,  not  only  for  virtue  so  rare,  but  for  quali- 
ties "taken  all  in  all"  without  any  parallel  in  the  annals  of 
the  human  species. 

mittees  from  the  different  professions  and  occupations  will  attend  at  the 
State  house  this  morning  at  nine  o'clock  to  confer  with  them  in  forming  the 
line  of  procession  to  receive  the  president  of  the  United  States. 

Tuesday,  April  lyth. 

The  members  of  the  society  of  the  Cincinnati  established  in  this  State 
intend  to  pay  every  respect  and  honor  due  to  the  president  of  the  United 
States  on  his  arrival  in  this  city;  it  is  therefore  to  be  hoped  that  those  mem- 
bers who  may  be  in  the  country,  will  make  it  a  point  to  be  in  town  at  or  be- 
fore the  ioth  instant,  the  time  when  the  president  may  be  expected. 

April  1 8//?. 

Friday,  April  lid. 

The  list  of  arrangement,  taken  by  ballot  from  which  the  different  pro- 
fessions and  handicrafts  are  to  form  the  procession,  on  the  president's  ar- 

ISO 


■■■■■■■■PBlHHiHMMHiHHi 
1 


MANTELPIECE  IN  THOMAS   HEYWARD  HOUSE 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  Of  E!  L^j|i 


Charleston 

The  character  and  magnitude  of  Charleston's  prepara- 
tions raised  misgivings  in  the  minds  of  some,  however; 
and  the  charges  of  monarchist  tendencies  which  Jefferson 
was  always  flinging  about  find  their  echo  in  this  protest, 
which  appeared  in  the  "Independent  Gazette,  and  Agri- 
cultural Repository"  (April  30,  1791)  of  Philadelphia: 
"We  find  by  the  southern  papers  that  the  President,  on 
his  journey,  is  still  perfumed  with  the  incense  of  addresses. 
However  highly  we  may  consider  the  character  of  the 
Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Union,  yet  we  cannot  but  think 
the  fashionable  mode  of  expressing  our  attachment  to  the 
defender  of  the  liberty  of  his  country,  savors  too  much  of 
monarchy  to  be  used  by  Republicans  or  to  be  received  with 
pleasure  by  a  President  of  a  Commonwealth." 

The  coming  of  Washington  was  heralded  by  brief  no- 
tices in  the  "City  Gazette."  On  April  30th  appeared  the 
first  notice: 

By  an  express  who  arrived  yesterday  from  Georgetown 
with  dispatches  to  the  intendant  of  this  city,  we  learn  that 
the  President  of  the  United  States  was  to  have  been  at  Wil- 
mington on  the  24th  instant,  and  that  he  was  expected  in 
Georgetown  yesterday.  From  whence  it  is  concluded  that 
this  illustrious  personage  will  arrive  in  this  city  on  Wednes- 
day next. 

On  Monday,  2d,  appeared  the  following: 

rival,  is  left  at  the  printing  office  for  the  government  of  those  who  intend 
joining  the  procession. 

Thursday,  April  l%th. 

The  standing  committee,  the  committee  of  arrangements  and  the  other 
members  of  the  Cincinnati,  are  requested  to  meet  this  evening  at  6  o'clock 
at  McCrady's  tavern,  on  business  of  particular  moment  to  the  Society. 

151 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

From  undoubted  authority  we  learn  that  the  President  of 
the  United  States  was  at  George  town  on  the  30th  and  was  to 
dine  yesterday  at  Mrs.  Horry's.  That  he  intends  being  in 
town  this  day  by  1  o'clock  and  dine  in  a  private  manner  with 
his  Excellency,  the  Governor. 

The  streets  being  very  dry,  the  citizens  are  requested  to 
sweep  and  water  before  their  respective  houses  early  this 
morning. 

The  committee  of  arrangements  for  the  Cincinnati  request 
the  members  to  meet  this  day  at  ten  o'clock  precisely  at  Mc- 
Crady's  tavern  in  their  full  uniform. 

The  celebration  of  the  anniversary  of  the  St.  Tammany 
Society,  which  was  to  have  been  held  this  day,  is  postponed 
to  a  future  day,  of  which  timely  notice  will  be  given. 

Even  the  local  versifiers  burst  forth  in  patriotic  poems  — 
notably  the  long-forgotten  (and  just  as  well!)  "Address 
to  General  Washington  on  his  arrival  in  Charleston,  from 
*Liberty  " 1  [Please  note  the  arresting  asterisk  referring 
to  fetching  allusions  in  the  poem  itself] : 

Address  To 
GENERAL  WASHINGTON 

On  his  arrival  in  Charleston, 

from  *Liberty. 

With  peals  extatic  let  the  welkin  ring, 

To  hail  th'  approach  of  him  that's  more  than  king; 

For  having  made  a  gallant  people  free, 

He  scorn'd  to  grasp  at  regal  tyranny; 

In  war  he  for  them  having  freedom  gain'd, 

He  still  their  guardian  in  peace  remain'd; 

His  care  paternal  of  their  rights  &  laws, 

From  every  grateful  heart  demands  applause; 

1  City  Gazette,  May  3,  1791. 
IS2 


Charleston 

Prudence  and  courage  form  my  hero's  mind, 
To  every  change  of  fate  alike  resign'd; 
The  virtues  which  illume  his  daring  soul, 
Have  spread  his  fame  from  Indus  to  the  pole. 

Then  welcome  Washington  by  *me  designed, 
To  make  my  name  rever'd  by  all  mankind; 
To  snatch  the  scourge  from  oppressions  hand, 
And  spread  my  blessings  o'er  an  injur'd  land; 
Thy  Carolina  free'd  made  great  by  thee, 
T'  express  her  grateful  thanks  commissions  me; 
With  gratitude  each  gen'rous  bosom  beats, 
Thy  glorious  actions  every  tongue  repeats; 
The  mighty  league  thro'  thee  shall  be  rever'd, 
Its  friendship  courted,  its  resentment  fear'd, 
The  stripes  and  stars  perpetuate  thy  fame, 
And  children  yet  unborn  shall  bless  thy  name; 
Follow  the  glorious  course  thou  hast  begun 
And  prove  thyself  *my  best,  my  darling  son. 
When  thou  hast  pass'd  th'  inevitable  doom, 
Immortal  honors  shall  adorn  thy  tomb; 
And  when  thy  mortal  part  to  Earth  is  given, 
A  cherubim  shall  waft  thy  soul  to  heaven. 

The  scene  of  Washington's  arrival  at  Charleston  is  the 
brightest,  liveliest  picture  in  the  gay  panorama  of  the 
Southern  tour.  When  Washington,  accompanied  by 
Major  Jackson,  reached  Haddrel's  Point  —  just  across 
the  Cooper  River  from  Charleston  —  he  is  greeted  most 
warmly  by  the  Honorable  John  Bee  Holmes,1  Recorder  to 

1  John  Bee  Holmes,  son  of  Isaac  and  Rebecca  Holmes,  was  born  April 
22,  1760.  While  still  a  lad  he  bore  arms  in  the  American  Revolution;  and 
was  an  officer  in  the  Charleston  Regiment  of  Militia.  In  the  disastrous  at- 
tack upon  Savannah  in  1779,  in  which  he  was  slightly  wounded,  he  bore  the 
mortally  wounded  Count  Pulaski  from  the  field.  He  served  during  the 
siege  of  Charleston;  and  after  the  surrender  was  imprisoned  on  the  prison- 
ship  Pack  Horse  with  the  other  officers  of  his  regiment.  This  was  regarded 

153 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

the  city,  in  his  official  robes,  General  Charles  Cotesworth 
Pinckney,1  Major-General  William  Moultrie,  Major  Ed- 

ns  an  act  of  barbarity,  as  the  ship  had  recently  been  used  as  a  smallpox 
hospital.  As  soon  as  he  came  of  age,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  As  a 
voting  man  he  served  in  the  South  Carolina  Legislature.  He  won  high 
reputation  for  ability  as  a  criminal  lawyer.  "The  friendships  of  the  most 
enlightened  men  in  the  State,"  it  is  stated  in  an  obituary  in  the  Charlestown 
Courier,  "were  the  first  fruits  of  his  manliness  and  intelligence."  On  Wash- 
ington's visit,  he  steered  a  boat  rowed  by  eight  American  captains  to  meet 
the  President.  On  November  19,  1783,  he  was  married  to  Elizabeth  Ed- 
wards, daughter  by  his  first  wife  of  John  Edwards,  Mrs.  Isaac  Holmes's 
second  husband.  They  had  thirteen  children.  He  died  very  suddenly  on 
September  5,  1827. 

1  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney  was  born  in  Charleston  February  25, 1746; 
died  there  August  16,  1825.  Educated  at  Westminster,  Christ  Church,  Ox- 
ford (England);  read  law  in  Middle  Temple.  Nine  months  Royal  Military 
Academy,  Caen,  France.  Attorney-General  of  South  Carolina;  Member  of 
first  Provincial  Congress  of  South  Carolina,  1775;  Captain  and  Major  and 
Colonel  of  infantry;  aide-de-camp  to  Washington;  took  part  in  the  battles 
of  Brandywine  and  Germantown.  Presided  over  South  Carolina  Senate, 
1779;  active  in  many  battles;  in  council  of  war  he  voted  "for  the  rejection 
of  all  terms  of  capitulation  and  for  continuing  hostilities  to  the  last  extrem- 
ity." He  was  taken  prisoner  on  the  surrender  of  Charleston,  May,  1780, 
remaining  in  rigorous  confinement  for  two  years.  Exchanged,  February, 
1782;  commissioned  Brigadier-General,  1782.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
convention  that  framed  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  in  1787. 
He  became  a  Federalist  and  served  in  the  convention  that  ratified  it  for 
South  Carolina;  and  in  the  State  Constitutional  Convention,  1790.  In 
1 79 1  he  declined  the  office  of  Associate  Justice  of  the  United  States  Su- 
preme Court;  in  1784,  the  portfolio  of  War,  and  in  1795  that  of  State.  In 
1796  he  accepted  the  position  of  United  States  Minister  to  France;  but  that 
Government  refused  to  receive  him.  Federalist  candidate  for  Vice-Presi- 
dent, 1800,  and  for  President  in  1804  and  1808.  At  a  special  meeting  of 
the  South  Carolina  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  held  at  the  court-house, 
August  18,  1825,  the  Honorable  William  Drayton  delivered  an  obituary 
address  in  which  appear  the  following  words:  "His  life  was  extended  to 
extreme  old  age,  yet  did  he  so  conduct  himself  through  its  whole  dura- 
tion, as  not  only  to  obtain  the  applause  of  the  wise  and  good,  but  what 
is  seldom  the  lot  of  the  illustrious,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  avoid  the  slan- 
ders of  envy,  and  the  vindictiveness  of  malice.  .  .  .  His  was  the  rare  felicity 
of  running  an  unbroken  career  of  virtue  and  usefulness;  honoured  and  hon- 
ourable from  the  vernal  bloom  of  youth,  to  the  maturity  of  manhood  and 
the  frosts  of  age."  Writing  of  him,  with  reference  to  availability  for  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  United  States  Army,  Washington  (winter  of  1791- 

154 


GENERAL  CHARLES   COTESWORTH   PINCKNEY 


FHC  I IRRARY 

OF  THE 
BSJVfERSITY  QF  tilimUIS 


Charleston 

ward  Rutledge,1  Colonel  William  Washington,  and  Colo- 
nel Dart,  to  the  accompaniment  of  the  enthusiastic  cheers 
of  the  many  who  have  come  to  attend  him  across  the  river 
to  Charleston.  Entering  the  elegant  twelve-oared  barge 
prepared  for  the  purpose,  Washington  is  rowed  across  the 
river  by  thirteen  masters  of  American  vessels,  namely: 
Captain  Cochran  (cockswain,  as  senior  officer),  Cross, 
Moore,  Milligan,  Kean,  Rea,  Lawrence,  Drinker,  Swain, 
Congers,  Dickenson,  Crowly,  and  Connolly,  who  were  uni- 
formly and  neatly  dressed  ("most  elegantly  dressed,"  re- 
cords Washington)  in  light  blue  silk  jackets  and  round 
black  hats  decorated  with  blue  ribbons  on  which  were  im- 
pressed the  arms  of  South  Carolina.  Properly  disposed  in 
two  boats  close  behind  were  the  gentlemen  of  the  Ama- 
teur Society  who,  assisted  by  Mr.  Palmer,  Mr.  James 
Badger,  Mr.  Jonathan  Badger,  and  Mr.  Harris,  with  the 

92)  records:  "A  Colonel  since  SeptT  16th  1776;  but  appointed  a  Brigadr.  by 
brevet,  at  the  close  of  the  War,  only.  —  In  this  Gentleman  many  valu- 
able qualities  are  to  be  found.  —  He  is  of  unquestionable  bravery  —  Is  a 
man  of  strict  honor,  erudition  &  good  sense:  and  it  is  said  has  made  Tac- 
itus a  study." 

1  On  this  tour  occurred  a  remarkable  and  unique  episode.  Washington, 
writing  from  Camden,  South  Carolina,  May  24,  1791,  addressed  the  follow- 
ing letter  to  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney  and  Edward  Rutledge: 

Gentlemen, 

An  address  to  you  jointly,  on  a  subject  of  the  following  nature,  may  have 
a  singular  appearance;  but  that  singularity  will  not  exceed  the  evidence, 
which  is  thereby  given  of  my  opinion  of,  and  confidence  in  you,  and  of  the 
opinion  I  entertain  of  your  confidence  and  friendship  for  each  other. 

The  office  lately  resigned  by  Mr.  John  Rutledge,  in  the  supreme  judi- 
ciary of  the  Union,  remains  to  be  filled.  Will  either  of  you  two  gentlemen 
accept  it?  And,  in  that  case,  which  of  you?  It  will  occur  to  you,  that  ap- 
pointments to  office  in  the  recess  of  the  Senate  are  temporary;  but  of  their 
confirmation  in  such  a  case  there  can  be  no  doubt. 

It  may  be  asked,  why  a  proposition  similar  to  this  has  never  been  made 

155 


Washington' s  Southern  Tour 

choir  of  St.  Philip's  Church,  made  the  air  sweet  with  the 
strains  of  music,  both  vocal  and  instrumental,  and  de- 
lighted the  gay  throng  of  richly  dressed  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen in  more  than  forty  boats  who  laughed  and  chat- 
tered gaily  —  rather  than  listening  in  silence  to  the  music 
—  on  the  passage  across  the  river.  But  all  listened  in- 
tently to  the  chorus  of  voices  in  the  song: 

He  comes!  he  comes!  the  hero  comes. 
Sound,  sound  your  trumpets,  beat  your  drums, 
From  port  to  port  let  cannons  roar, 
His  welcome  to  our  friendly  shore. 

Prepare,  prepare,  your  songs  prepare, 
Loud,  loudly  rend  the  echoing  air, 
From  pole  to  pole  this  praise  resound, 
For  virtue  is  with  glory  crowned. 

As  the  gay  flotilla  approached  Prioleau's  Wharf,  at  the 
foot  of  Queen  Street,  numbers  of  other  boats  came  to  meet 
and  greet  the  welcome  visitor;  and  cannon  boomed  a 
salute  in  handsome  style.1  As  the  tall  and  majestic  Wash- 
to  you  before.  This  is  my  answer.  Your  friends,  with  whom  I  have  often 
conversed  on  like  occasions,  have  always  given  it  as  their  decided  opin- 
ion, that  no  place  at  the  disposal  of  the  general  government  could  be  a 
compensation  for  the  relinquishment  of  your  private  pursuits,  or,  in  their 
belief,  would  withdraw  you  from  them.  In  making  the  attempt,  however, 
in  the  present  instance,  I  discharge  my  duty,  and  shall  await  your  an- 
swer (which  I  wish  to  receive  soon)  for  the  issue.  Of  my  sincere  esteem 
and  regard  for  you  both,  I  wish  you  to  be  persuaded,  and  that  I  am,  Gen- 
tlemen, &c. 

G.  Washington 

In  a  joint  reply,  Mr.  Pinckney  and  Mr.  Rutledge  declined  accepting  the 
proposed  appointment.  For  the  grounds  of  their  declination,  consult 
Sparks's  Washington,  xn,  p.  165,  footnote. 

1  An  eye-witness  thus  describes  the  scene:  "There  was  such  concourse  of 
all  ranks  on  board  the  several  vessels  hauled  close  to  the  shore  as  is  almost 

I56 


Charleston 

ington  alighted  from  his  barge  and  walked  up  the  specially 
erected  stairway  covered  with  green  cloth,  he  was  accorded 
official  greetings  by  Governor  Charles  Pinckney,  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor Isaac  Holmes,  Intendant  Vanderhorst,  the 
members  of  the  City  Council,  by  name  of  Mr.  Morris, 
Colonel  Mitchell,  Mr.  Corbett,  Mr.  Beckman,  Captain 
North,  Mr.  Cripps,  Mr.  Lee,  Mr.  Cole,  Mr.  Brownlee,  Dr. 
Payas,  Dr.  Harris,  and  Mr.  Robertson,  and  by  the  State 
Society  of  the  Cincinnati.1  With  solemn  mien,  the  benig- 
nant-looking Intendant  stepped  forward  and  said : 

The  Intendant  and  Wardens  beg  leave,  Sir,  to  welcome  you 
to  this  city.  It  will  be  their  care  to  make  your  stay  agree- 
able —  they  have  provided  accomodations  for  yourself  and 
suite  to  which  they  will  be  happy  to  conduct  you! 

With  formal  dignity  the  President  acknowledged  the 
greeting  and  bade  them  lead  on.  The  Fusilier  Company  2 
then  opened  their  files,  and  enclosed  the  following  order 

beyond  description.  From  superannuated  old  age  to  lisping  infancy.  The 
crowd  was  so  great  there  was  scarce  room  to  move!  On  the  illustrious  per- 
sonage's approach  to  the  shore,  such  a  buz  of  approbation  —  such  a  shout 
of  joy,  took  place  as  that  one  must  see  and  hear  all  to  have  anything  like  an 
adequate  idea  of  it.  The  shore,  the  streets,  the  windows,  the  balconies,  all 
were  so  crowded,  so  beset  with  spectators,  that  the  most  attentive  ob- 
server must  fail  in  an  attempt  to  do  justice  to  the  splendid  aspect  of  the 
whole." 

1  "The  uncommonly  large  concourse  of  citizens,"  says  a  writer  in  the 
Gazette,  "  testified  their  happiness  on  the  arrival  of  their  chief  magistrate  by 
reiterated  shouts  of  joy  and  satisfaction  —  the  Charleston  battalion  of  ar- 
tillery saluted  him  with  discharges  from  their  field  pieces,  the  bells  of  St. 
Michael's  Church  were  rung,  and  the  shipping  in  the  harbour  displayed 
their  colors  during  the  day." 

2  The  German  Fusiliers  were  organized  as  a  militia  company  during  the 
Revolution  and  served  with  distinction  both  in  that  war  and  in  the  War 
between  the  States.  "Their  successors,"  said  D.  E.  Huger-Smith  in  a  letter 
to  me,  October  31,  1918,  "are  to-day  serving  on  the  French  front  in  the 
30th  Division  of  Pershing's  Army." 

iS7 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

of  procession  which  moved  towards  the  Exchange,  with 
colors  flying,  drums  beating,  fifes  playing: 

The  Sheriff  of  the  City  bearing  the  mace 

Messenger  and  Marshall 

Treasurer  and  Clerk 

Recorder 

The  Wardens,  two  and  two,  bearing  their  wands 

The  Intendant  with  his  wand 

The  President  and  suite 

The  Governor  and  Lieutenant  Governor 

Aids  to  his  Excellency  the  Governor 

Civil  Officers  of  the  State 

Civil  Officers  of  the  United  States 

President  of  the  Senate 

Clergy 

Citizens  two  and  two 

Officers  of  the  Militia 

Members  of  the  Cincinnati. 

Banners  with  "sentiments"  inscribed  thereon  were  prom- 
inent in  the  procession;  and  perhaps  the  most  notable  in- 
scription was  that  on  the  banner  borne  by  M.  Ransier, 
gunsmith  of  Charleston: 

Arma  sunt  necessaria 

Vis  vim  repellere  licet 

Titus  vixit  pro  ipsis 

Georgius  Washington  vivit  pro  suis 

Utinam  Nestoris  annos  recipiat. 

On  reaching  the  Exchange,  the  President  was  conducted 
to  the  platform  within  the  grand  balustrade  of  the  Ex- 
change, fronting  the  Broad  Street,  where  he  stood  to 

158 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

B8»¥ERSITY  OP  tUIKOIa 


Charleston 

await  the  salutes  and  discharges  from  the  field  artillery. 
He  then  reviewed  the  procession  as  it  passed  along;  and 
"politely  and  gravely  bowed"  in  recognition  of  the  salu- 
tations of  respect  which  were  rendered  to  him.  The  order 
of  the  procession  was  now  reversed;  the  President  was  es- 
corted to  Major  Heyward's  house,  which  had  been  hired 
from  Mrs.  Jamieson  by  the  Corporation  for  his  entertain- 
ment.1 The  "elegant  habitation"  was  ornamented  in 
front  by  lamps,  and  over  the  portal  was  a  triumphal  arch. 

1  The  following  minutes  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  City  Council  are 
worthy  of  record: 

Wednesday,  27th  April,  1791. — The  Hon.  Arnoldus  Vanderhorst,  In- 
tendant;  Col.  Mitchell,  Mr.  Morris,  Mr.  Corbett,  Dr.  Harris  and  Mr.  Mar- 
shall, Committee  to  make  the  necessary  arrangements  for  the  reception 
and  entertainment  of  George  Washington,  Esq.,  President  of  the  United 
States,  on  his  arrival  in  the  City  of  Charleston,  reported,  and  the  said  re- 
port being  read,  Ordered,  That  the  said  report  be  taken  into  consideration 
immediately,  and  the  same  being  again  read,  was  agreed  to  as  follows,  viz.: 
The  Intendant  and  Committee  appointed  to  make  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments for  the  reception  and  entertainment  of  George  Washington,  Esq., 
President  of  the  United  States,  on  his  arrival  in  Charleston,  recommend 
that  the  house  of  Thos.  Heyward,  Esq.  in  Church  Street,  at  present  in  the 
occupation  of  Mrs.  Rebecca  Jamieson,  be  taken  for  the  use  of  the  President 
during  his  residence  in  this  city,  together  with  the  furniture,  for  which  the 
sum  of  £60  be  paid,  it  being  the  lowest  rate  at  which  the  said  house  can  be 
procured.  They  recommend  Mrs.  Frances  Ramadge  for  House-keeper,  and 
Margaret  Daniel,  with  other  necessary  servants  for  the  house,  to  be  paid  by 
the  Corporation.  Major  Peter  Bocquet  having  offered  his  Barge  and  Mr. 
Paul  Pritchard  agrees  to  lengthen  and  put  it  in  thorough  repair,  gratis,  for 
the  purpose  of  conveying  the  President  of  the  United  States  from  Had- 
drel's  Point  or  Hobcau  Ferry  to  the  city.  Capt.  Cochran  and  twelve  other 
masters  of  American  vessels,  viz:  Jacob  Milligan,  Geo.  Cross,  Charles 
Crawley,  John  Connely,  Henry  Laurence,  Thos.  Kean,  Jeremh.  Dickenson, 
Luke  Swain,  Thos.  Blundel,  Wm.  Conyers,  James  Rea,  John  Drinker, 
to  be  handsomely  dressed  at  their  own  expense,  will  serve  as  a  volunteer 
crew. 

The  Committee  advise  that  their  offers  be  accepted,  and  that  the  Re- 
corder in  his  Robes  be  directed  to  attend  and  present  the  Barge  in  the  name 
of  the  Corporation,  to  the  President  at  Haddrel's  Point,  for  his  accomo- 
dation and  conveyance  to  the  city;  they  also  advise  that  the  Custom  House 

159 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

During  the  procession  from  the  wharf  to  the  Exchange 
and  then  to  his  lodgings,  the  President  "with  the  greatest 
politeness  and  attention  bowed  uncovered  to  the  brilliant 
assemblage  of  spectators  of  both  sexes  to  the  right  and  to 
the  left."  "The  lodgings  provided  for  me  in  this  place 
were  very  good,"  records  Washington  in  his  diary,  "being 
the  furnished  house  of  a  Gentleman  at  present  in  the 
Country;  but  occupied  by  a  person  placed  there  on  pur- 
pose to  accommodate  me,  &  who  was  paid  in  the  same 
manner  as  any  other  letter  of  lodgings  would  have  been 

barge  and  the  Fort  boat  be  procured  to  assist  in  bringing  over  any  gentle- 
men who  may  accompany  the  President,  and  that  a  temporary  pair  of 
stairs  be  placed  at  such  wharf  as  may  be  appointed  for  his  landing. 

The  Intendant  and  Committee  recommend  that  a  Dinner  be  given  to  the 
President,  and  such  other  gentlemen  as  the  Council  shall  think  proper  to 
invite.  Mr.  Williams  of  the  Coffee  House,  having  made  proposals  to  pro- 
vide a  good  Dinner,  for  six  shillings  for  each  person,  with  a  handsome  De- 
sert; the  best  Madeira  wine  for  5s.  per  bottle,  and  other  Liquors  as  usual, 
but  that  he  cannot  find  Tables,  Seats  and  Sconces  or  Candlesticks;  it  is 
recommended  that  his  proposals  be  accepted,  and  that  the  Exchange  be 
suitably  fitted  up  with  Tables,  Chairs,  Benches,  Sconces  and  awnings. 

It  is  further  recommended  that  the  City  Hall  be  put  into  proper  order, 
for  the  purpose  of  giving  a  Ball  to  the  President,  and  the  Ladies  of  the  city, 
with  such  gentlemen  as  the  Council  shall  think  proper  to  invite,  and  that  a 
genteel  Supper  be  provided  on  the  occasion. 

The  Intendant  and  Committee  further  recommend,  that  a  proper  stock 
of  liquors,  groceries,  and  provisions,  be  laid  in  for  the  use  of  the  President 
and  his  suite,  while  in  the  city,  and  that  his  horses  be  properly  provided 
with  stables,  hay,  corn  and  oats. 

They  further  recommend,  that  the  Bells  of  St.  Michael's  Church  be  put 
in  repair,  and  proper  persons  employed  for  the  purpose  of  ringing  a  Peal, 
on  the  approaching  joyous  occasion,  to  be  paid  by  the  Corporation. 

As  a  mark  of  distinction  to  the  Intendant  and  Wardens,  it  is  recom- 
mended that  handsome  black  varnished  Wands  three-quarters  of  an  inch 
diameter,  and  six  feet  long,  be  provided.  The  Intendant's  Wand  to  have 
a  gold  head,  and  the  Wardens'  silver  heads,  with  the  cypher  C.  C.  L.  on 
each  to  be  used  on  this  and  other  public  occasions. 

Lastly,  they  recommend  that  the  expenses  which  may  be  incurred  in  car- 
rying the  foregoing  or  any  other  necessary  arrangements  into  execution, 
may  be  defrayed  by  the  Corporation. 

l6o 


Charleston 

paid."  *  Here  he  received  the  "warm  congratulations  of 
several  of  the  most  respectable  characters  in  the  State"; 
and  was  individually  introduced  to  the  officials  of  the  Cor- 
poration, the  members  of  the  Cincinnati,  and  the  officers 
of  the  Charleston  Battalion  of  Artillery.2  While  the  Pres- 
ident removed  the  stains  of  travel  and  made  ready  for 
dinner  at  the  Governor's,  the  City  Council  retired  to  the 
Council  Chamber,  where  an  address  to  the  President  from 
the  Corporation,  which  had  been  previously  prepared,  was 

1  On  May  23,  1901,  a  bronze  tablet  on  the  front  of  Thomas  Heyward's 
husoe  in  Church  Street,  then  owned  by  H.  W.  Fuseler,  was  unveiled  with 
appropriate  ceremonies,  the  orator  of  the  day  being  Professor  Yates  Snow- 
den,  of  the  University  of  South  Carolina,  who  spoke  in  Hibernian  Hall. 
The  tablet  was  the  gift  of  Mrs.  Edward  Willis,  Vice-Regent  of  Rebecca 
Motte  Chapter,  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution,  of  the  City  of 
Charleston.  The  tablet,  of  diamond  shape,  bears  the  inscription: 

During 

His  Visit 

To  Charleston 

May  1791 

The  Guest  of  the  Citizens 

President 

George  Washington 

Was  entertained  in  this  House 

This  Memorial  erected  by  a  Daughter 

of  the 

American  Revolution 

A  Charter  Member 

May  1 90 1 

Consult  The  Exposition,  August,  1901.  For  the  text  of  Professor  Snow- 
den's  address  see  Charleston  News  and  Courier,  May  26,  1901.  Also  consult 
News  and  Courier,  May  24,  1901. 

2  The  Charleston  Battalion  of  Artillery  was  a  militia  command  organized 
about  1757.  Throughout  the  Revolution  until  the  fall  of  Charleston  in 
1780,  the  services  of  this  military  organization  were  continuous  and  credit- 
able. At  the  fight  on  Port  Royal  Island  in  1777  its  two  companies  were 
commanded  by  Edward  Rutledge  and  Thomas  Heyward,  Jr.,  both  signers 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

l6l 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

read  and  agreed  to.  It  was  then  "Ordered,  that  the  Re- 
corder do  wait  on  the  President  of  the  United  States,  to 
know  when  he  would  be  pleased  to  receive  the  Corpora- 
tion, with  their  address,"  and  the  Recorder,  on  his  return, 
informed  the  Council  that  the  President  would  receive  the 
City  address  the  next  afternoon  at  three  o'clock. 

At  five  o'clock  that  afternoon  (May  2d),  the  President 
dined  with  the  Governor,  at  his  house  in  Meeting  Street 
"(in  what  he  called  a  private  way)  with  15  or  18  Gentle- 
men." A  description  of  the  Pinckney  house,  recorded  by 
Fraser,  gives  color  and  atmosphere  to  the  picture: 

His  collection  of  Paintings,  statuettes,  medals,  etc.,  ren- 
dered his  house  almost  a  museum.  His  fine  library  occupying 
an  entire  suite  of  three  large  rooms,  the  floor  and  windows  of 
which  were  richly  carpeted  and  curtained,  while  the  ceilings 
were  worked  with  classic  representations  —  is  supposed  to 
have  contained  near  twenty  thousand  of  the  most  rare  and 
choice  books  collected  from  every  part  of  the  Continent  and 
in  every  known  language.  The  old  gentleman  was  accus- 
tomed to  receive  his  friends  in  a  room  peculiarly  his  own  — 
two  large  old  fashioned  richly  carved  and  covered  chairs 
stood  on  either  side  of  the  fireplace  while  a  table  of  ebony 
wood  inlaid  with  mosaic  occupied  the  centre;  Ben  Franklin's 
bust  over  the  door;  and  in  beautiful  fresco  Ganymede  flying, 
with  his  cup  worked  on  the  ceiling;  a  heavy  carved  mahogany 
case  occupied  one  corner,  in  which  cake  and  wine  were  kept, 
and  on  the  arrival  of  a  visitor  always  were  placed  before  him. 
This  room  overlooked  a  garden  of  choicest  flowers  in  which 
were  to  be  seen  two  beautiful  flamingoes  with  their  rich  plum- 
age  

It  was  in  this  very  house,  that,  when  the  third  time  Gov- 
ernor of  the  State,  he  entertained  General  Washington  in  a 
style  and  manner  which  has  come  down  to  our  day  —  the 
whole  of  the  large  mansion  was  thrown  open  and  illuminated 

162 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UHIVERSITY  Of  N  UHOIS 


Charleston 

by  varied  colored  lights  which  burned  night  and  day,  the 
garden  was  arranged  as  a  promenade  —  there  with  music, 
viands  and  the  dance  time  was  cheated  for  a  week. 

It  is  characteristic  of  Washington  that,  after  a  day  of 
great  exertion,  which  must  have  taxed  him  severely,  he 
should  nevertheless  find  time  to  record  before  retiring 
some  observations  on  geography  and  agriculture : 

It  may  as  well  in  this  as  in  any  other  place,  be  observed, 
that  the  Country  from  Wilmington  through  which  the  Road 
passes,  is,  except  in  very  small  spots,  much  the  same  as  what 
has  already  been  described;  that  is  to  say,  sand  &  pine  barrens 
—  with  very  few  inhabitants  —  we  were  indeed  informed  that 
at  some  distance  from  the  Road  on  both  sides  the  land  was  of 
a  better  quality,  &  thicker  settled,  but  this  could  only  be  on 
the  Rivers  &  larger  waters  —  for  a  perfect  sameness  seems  to 
run  through  all  the  rest  of  the  Country  —  on  these  —  espe- 
cially the  swamps  and  low  lands  on  the  Rivers,  the  Soil  is 
very  rich;  and  productive  when  reclaimed;  but  to  do  this  is 
both  laborious  and  expensive.  —  The  Rice  planters  have  two 
modes  of  watering  their  fields  —  the  first  by  the  tide  —  the 
other  by  resurvoirs  drawn  from  the  adjacent  lands.  — The 
former  is  best  because  most  certain.  —  A  crop  without  either 
is  precarious,  —  because  a  drought  may  not  only  injure, 
but  destroy  it.  —  Two  and  an  half  and  3  barrels  to  the  Acre  is 
esteemed  a  good  Crop  and  8  or  10  Barrls.  for  each  grown  hand 
is  very  profitable;  but  some  have  12  &  14,  whilst  5  or  6  is  reck- 
oned the  average  production  of  a  hand  —  a  barrel  contains 
about  600  weight  and  the  present  price  is  about  10/6  &  11/ 
Sterg.  pr.  100. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  the  son  of  the  Chief  Justice, 
John  Rutledge,1  had  gone  to  meet  the  President  at  "  Snee" 

1  John  Rutledge,  born  in  Charleston,  1739;  died  there,  1800.  Educated 
for  the  bar  at  the  Temple,  London.  Opposed  Stamp  Act,  advocated  colo- 
nial union  (1765).  "By  far  the  greatest  orator,"  according  to  Patrick  Henry, 
in  first  Continental  Congress.  President  of  the  Provincial  Government  of 
South  Carolina  (1776)  and  head  of  military  forces.   Resigned  governorship 

163 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

farm,  the  country  estate  of  Governor  Charles  Pinckney, 
and  attended  him  thence  into  the  city.  The  Chief  Justice 
had  previously  made  his  apologies  to  the  President  for  his 
absence  on  the  circuit  in  the  following  letter: 

Dr  Sir  — 

I  am  extremely  sorry,  that  official  Duty  l  prevents  (which 
nothing  but  indispensable  Necessity  should),  my  going,  with 
my  Son  to  meet  you,  at  the  Boundary-Line  of  North  Caro- 
lina; He  will  do  himself  the  Honour  of  waiting  on  you,  from 
thence.  And  I  flatter  myself,  that  I  shall  have  an  opportunity 
of  paying  my  Respects,  to  you,  in  Person,  on  you  Tour  thro' 
the  upper  Country,  (where  I  must  be  for  several  Weeks,  on 
the  Circuit),  &  of  joining  my  fellow  Citizens  there,  in  ex- 
pressing, and  testifying  those  Sentiments  of  Affection  for 
your  Person,  &  Veneration  for  your  character,  which  pre- 
vail in  every  part  of  this  State,  as  much  as  in  any  part  of  the 
United  States. 

I  have  the  Honour  to  be,  with  the  greatest  Esteem  & 

"      '  Y-  obliged  &  most  obed-  Serv- 

The  President  of  the  United  States  of  America  J.  RuTLEDGE  / 

(Endorsed)  From  the  Hon^e  Jn?  Rutledge  / 
15th  Ap!  1791 

in  1778,  reelected  in  1779.  When  Charleston  was  besieged  by  the  British  in 
1780,  he  supported  Council  proposal  to  make  South  Carolina  neutral  during 
remainder  of  Revolution.  Convened  legislature  at  Jacksonborough  in  1782. 
Member  of  Congress,  1782-83;  and  in  1784,  after  declining  mission  to  The 
Hague,  appointed  Chancellor  of  South  Carolina.  Member  of  the  conven- 
tion that  framed  the  Constitution.  Declined  post  of  Justice  of  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court,  to  accept  that  of  Chief  Justice  of  Supreme  Court 
of  South  Carolina.  On  July  1,  1795,  was  appointed  Chief  Justice  of  the 
United  States,  over  which  he  presided  at  the-August  term;  but  his  nomi- 
nation was  not  confirmed  owing  to  mental  alienation. 

1  The  Court  of  Chancery  prior  to  1791  was  held  only  at  Charleston  for 
the  whole  State.  In  that  year  the  judges  of  the  court  were  by  statute  di- 
rected to  hold  courts  at  stated  times  in  Columbia  and  Ninety-Six  as  well, 
and  it  was  permitted  to  any  one  judge  to  make  all  interlocutory  orders  pre- 
vious to  final  decree,  which  could  only  be  made  by  the  whole  court.  After 
the  resignation  of  John  Rutledge,  the  last  Chief  Justice  under  the  old  law, 
no  other  Chief  Justice  was  elected,  but  the  judges  of  the  State  were  all 

164 


Charleston 

In  his  absence,  Mrs.  Rutledge  *  did  the  honors  of  the 
occasion  —  the  President  accepting  her  hospitality  by 
breakfasting  with  her  on  the  morning  of  Tuesday  (3d). 
At  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  President  held  a  levee 
"at  which  were  present  a  number  of  ladies  and  gentlemen 
of  the  greatest  respectability."2  The  President's  diary  — 

called  Associate  Judges,  and  writs  were  tested  in  the  name  of  the  senior 
Associate  Justice  for  the  time  being. 

1  Eliza  Grimke,  wife  of  John  Rutledge,  Governor  of  South  Carolina  and 
known  as  "the  Dictator,"  was  born  November  29,  1741.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  Frederick  Grimke,  who  in  1733  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight  em- 
igrated from  Germany;  and  in  1737  was  married  to  Martha  Emms  William- 
son. Hedied  October  20, 1778.  By  her  marriage  to  John  Rutledge  (May  1, 
1763),  Eliza  Grimke  had  five  sons  and  two  daughters.  When  the  officers  de- 
fending Fort  Moultrie  against  British  attack  advised  its  evacuation,  John 
Rutledge  is  credited  with  saying:  "You  will  not  do  so  without  an  order 
from  me  and  I  would  sooner  cut  off  my  right  hand  than  write  one."  Eliza 
Grimke  died  June  7,  1792. 

2  John  Rutledge  was  a  warm  friend  and  sincere  admirer  of  Washington, 
and  never  permitted  him  to  be  attacked  or  slandered  in  his  presence.  In  his 
unpublished  diary  (Paris,  1787),  Rutledge  describes  a  dinner-party  he  at- 
tended in  England,  at  the  house  of  a  nobleman,  Sir  John  S ,  a  large  com- 
pany being  present.  During  the  course  of  the  dinner,  one  of  the  guests  de- 
scribed in  detail  the  hanging  of  a  political  prisoner,  Argill,  at  Washington's 
orders,  with  many  reflections  on  Washington.  "When  Mr.  G.  had  fin- 
ished," records  Rutledge,  "  I  said  that  I  was  an  American.  That  I  had  the 
honor  of  knowing  General  Washington,  and  was  well  acquainted  with 
all  the  circumstances  attached  to  Mr.  Argill's  case.  That  out  of  regard 
to  Truth,  as  well  as  respect  for  Genl.  Washington's  character  (which  had 
been  very  much  questioned  on  this  occasion),  I  came  forward  to  declare 
that  the  whole  of  Mr.  G.'s  information  was  false,  and  that  no  one  circum- 
stance had  happened  as  by  him  related.  I  said  I  was  sure  that  Mr.  G.  could 
not  have  got  his  information  from  Captain  Argill,  for  that  I  was  persuaded 
that  whenever  he  mentioned  the  affair,  that  also  he  must  have  mentioned 
the  great  delicacy  and  kindness  with  which  he  was  treated  not  only  by  Genl. 
Washington  but  by  all  the  different  officers  to  whose  charge,  during  his  con- 
finement, he  had  been  committed.  Every  body  at  table  seemed  pleased  with 
the  part  I  had  acted,  and  I  was  begged  to  tell  the  story  —  which  I  did. 

"  But  very  differently  from  what  Mr.  G.  had  done.  I  concluded  by  saying 
that  I  had  not  related  it  as  a  thing  I  merely  believed  but  which  I  knew  to  be 
a  fact.  And  that  I  would  let  the  credit  of  my  information  rest  on  the  word 
of  Mr.  G.'s  brother,  a  gentleman  I  had  not  the  honor  to  know,  but  who 

165 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

written  under  extraordinarily  trying  conditions,  during 
snatches  of  rest  between  balls,  parties,  receptions,  and 
addresses,  is  very  dry  and  succinct,  for  the  most  part.  But 
on  this  occasion  a  touch  of  real  emotion  succeeds  in  trans- 
ferring itself  to  the  page  of  the  little  diary  book:  "Was 
visited  about  2  o'clock  by  a  great  number  of  the  most  re- 
spectable ladies  of  Charleston  —  the  first  honor  of  the 
kind  I  had  ever  experienced  and  it  was  as  flattering  as  it 
was  singular."  Not  Jefferson  himself  could  have  expressed 
more  deftly  or  tersely  the  sense  of  combined  gratification 
and  surprise  which  Washington  has  here  expressed  in  the 
last  eight  words.  While  these  festivities  were  under  way, 
the  City  Council  met  according  to  adjournment  and  pro- 
ceeded to  the  President's  house  where,  at  three  o'clock, 
His  Honor  the  Intendant,  Amoldus  Vanderhorst,  deliv- 
ered an  address  in  these  words: 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States: 

Sir:  The  Intendant  and  Wardens,  representing  the  citi- 
zens of  Charleston,  find  themselves  particularly  gratified  by 
your  arrival  in  the  Metropolis  of  the  State.  It  is  an  event,  the 

having  been  in  America  at  the  time  must  necessarily  have  known  what  I 
mention  to  be  true. 

"  I  added  that  with  respect  to  the  inhumanity  of  which  General  Wash- 
ington had  been  accused  I  would  appeal  for  a  contradiction  of  the  charge  to 
those  officers  who  had  been  his  prisoners  in  America;  and  I  was  sure  (from 
my  acquaintance  with  some  of  them,  and  good  opinion  of  the  rest)  they 
would  not  be  satisfied  merely  with  contradictions  of  it,  but  they  would  es- 
teem it  a  duty  they  owed  their  consciences,  and  to  Justice,  to  go  further 
and  declare  they  never  knew  a  man  possessing  more  humanity;  and  that  if 
anything  could  have  rendered  the  position  of  a  prisoner  agreeable  it  would 
have  been  the  very  great  kindness  which  Genl.  Washington  shewed  to  his. 

"When  all  the  company  had  gone  Sir  John  told  me  he  never  in  his  life 
was  more  pleased  with  anything  than  the  modest  and  probable  manner  in 
which  I  had  related  Argill's  affair.  .  .  ."  For  this  extract  I  am  indebted  to 
Mr.  E.  B.  Rutledge,  The  Plains,  Fauquier  County,  Virginia. 

166 


THE  JOHN   RUTLEDGE  HOUSE 

Where  Washington  breakfasted 


OF  THE 


Charleston 

expectation  of  which  they  have  for  some  time  with  great 
pleasure  indulged.  When  in  the  person  of  the  Supreme  Mag- 
istrate of  the  United  States,  they  recognize  the  Father  of  the 
People,  and  the  defender  of  the  liberties  of  America,  they 
feel  a  particular  satisfaction  in  declaring  their  firm  persuasion 
that  they  speak  the  language  of  their  constituents,  in  assert- 
ing, that  no  body  of  men  throughout  this  extensive  continent 
can  exceed  them  in  attachment  to  his  public  character,  or  in 
revering  his  private  virtues.  And  they  do  not  hesitate  in  an- 
ticipating those  blessings  which  must  ultimately  be  diffused 
amongst  the  inhabitants  of  these  States  by  his  exertions  for 
their  general  welcome,  aided  by  those  in  whom  they  have  also 
vested  a  share  of  their  confidence. 

Go  on,  Sir,  as  you  have  done.  Continue  to  possess  as  well 
as  deserve  the  love  and  esteem  of  all  your  fellow  citizens: 
while  millions  in  other  parts  of  the  globe,  though  strangers  to 
your  person,  shall  venerate  your  name.  May  you  long  be 
spared  to  receive  those  marks  of  respect  which  you  so  entirely 
merit  from  a  grateful  people;  and  may  all  who  live  under  your 
auspices  continue  to  experience  that  freedom  and  happiness 
which  is  so  universally  acknowledged  to  have  proceeded  from 
your  wise,  judicious  and  prudent  administration. 

To  which  the  President  graciously  replied : 

Gentlemen  — 

The  gratification  you  are  pleased  to  express  at  my  arrival 
in  your  Metropolis,  is  replied  to  with  sincerity,  in  a  grateful 
acknowledgment  of  the  pleasing  sensations  which  your  af- 
fectionate urbanity  has  excited. 

Highly  sensible  of  your  attachment  and  favorable  opinions, 
I  entreat  you  to  be  persuaded  of  the  lasting  gratitude  which 
they  impress,  and  of  the  cordial  regard  with  which  they  are 
returned. 

It  is  the  peculiar  boast  of  our  country  that  her  happiness  is 
alone  dependent  on  the  collective  wisdom  and  virtue  of  her 
citizens,  and  rests  not  on  the  exertions  of  any  individual. 
Whilst  ajust  sense  is  entertained  of  their  natural  and  political 
advantages,  we  cannot  fail  to  improve  them,  and  with  the 

167 


Washington? *s  Southern  Tour 

progress  of  our  national  importance,  to  combine  the  freedom 
and  felicity  of  individuals.  I  shall  be  particularly  grateful  in 
observing  the  happy  influence  of  public  measures  on  the  pros- 
perity of  your  city,  which  is  so  much  entitled  to  the  regard 
and  esteem  of  the  American  Union. 

Not  to  be  outdone,  the  Charleston  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce had  made  preparations  to  present  an  address  to  the 
President,  particularly  in  view  of  the  great  importance  of 
Charleston  as  a  commercial  centre  and  port  of  entry.  Ac- 
cordingly at  half-past  three,  almost  before  the  President 
could  catch  his  breath,  a  delegation  of  the  merchants 
arrived  at  the  President's  house,  and  the  following  address 
was  presented  by  the  chairman,  Edmund  Darrell : 

Sir, 

The  merchants  of  Charleston,  entertaining  a  just  sense  of 
the  high  honour  conferred  on  the  City  by  your  Presence,  take 
the  earliest  opportunity  of  congratulating  you  on  your  arrival. 

The  obligations  which  are  due  to  you  by  every  member  of 
the  Republic,  are  acknowledged  by  all;  to  enter  into  detail  of 
them,  would  be  to  produce  the  history  of  your  life,  and  to  re- 
peat what  is  re-echoed  from  one  end  of  the  Continent  to  the 
other.  Were  it  possible,  Sir,  for  your  Fellow-Citizens  to  omit 
doing  justice  to  your  Merits,  the  Testimony  of  other  Nations 
would  evince  their  neglect,  or  ingratitude;  the  whole  world 
concurring  in  the  same  opinion  of  you. 

Convinced  as  we  are  of  your  constant  Solicitude  for  the  gen- 
eral Welfare;  it  must  afford  you  particular  Satisfaction  to  find 
the  progressive  Effects  of  the  Federal  Government  in  this 
State;  and  that  the  inhabitants  are  fast  emerging  from  the 
heavy  Calamities,  to  which  they  were  subjected  by  the  late 
War. 

Sensible  of  the  numerous  blessings  our  Country  has  derived 
from  your  Wise  and  judicious  Administration,  we  feel  ani- 
mated with  the  most  lively  Sentiments  of  Gratitude  towards 
you:  Suffer  us  then,  on  the  present  occasion,  to  represent  to 

168 


Charleston 

you  the  effectionate  Sensibility  with  which  we  are  impressed, 
by  assuring  you  that  we  yield  to  none  in  sincere  Respect  and 
attachment  to  your  Person;  and,  we  earnestly  implore  the  Al- 
mighty Father  of  the  Universe,  long  to  preserve  a  life  so  valu- 
able and  dear  to  the  People  over  whom  you  preside. 

The  reply  of  the  President  follows : 

To  the  Merchants  of  Charleston: 
Gentlemen: 

Your  congratulations  on  my  arrival  in  South  Carolina,  en- 
hanced by  the  affectionate  manner  in  which  they  are  offered, 
are  received  with  the  most  grateful  sensibility. 

Flattered  by  the  favorable  sentiments  you  express  of  my 
endeavors  to  be  useful  to  our  country,  I  desire  to  assure  you 
of  my  constant  solicitude  for  its  welfare  and  of  my  particular 
satisfaction  in  observing  the  advantages  which  accrue  to  the 
highly  deserving  citizens  of  this  State  from  the  operations  of 
the  general  government. 

I  am  not  less  indebted  to  your  expressions  of  personal  at- 
tachment and  respect;  they  receive  my  best  thanks,  and  in- 
duce my  most  sincere  wishes  for  your  professional  prosperity 
and  your  individual  happiness. 

Following  the  ceremonies,  the  President  at  once  ad- 
journed to  the  Exchange,  where  an  "elegant  entertain- 
ment" was  given  in  his  honor  by  the  City  Corporation.1 

The  Exchange,  which  had  recently  been  "fitted  up  and 
decorated  in  very  sumptuous  style,"  was  well  suited  for  so 
memorable  a  company  —  those  invited  being  the  Gov- 
ernor, Lieutenant-Governor,  officers  of  the  State,  Union 
and  city,  consuls  of  foreign  powers,  the  reverend  clergy, 
members  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  officers  of  the 

1  It  is  so  styled  in  the  contemporary  Charleston  City  Gazette.  But  A.  S.  Sal- 
ley,  Jr.,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  information,  states  that  Charleston  was 
not  incorporated  as  a  city  until  more  than  forty  years  after  this  event.  The 
name  was  changed  from  Charles  Town  to  Charleston  by  act  of  assembly 
in  1783. 

169 


Washington! s  Southern  Tour 

militia,  "gentlemen  strangers,"  and  a  number  of  "respect- 
able citizens."  The  banquet,  unusually  protracted,  was  a 
great  success  according  to  the  ideas  of  our  leisurely  ances- 
tors; and,  following  custom,  fifteen  toasts  were  given  after 
the  banquet  — :  each  toast  being  followed  by  a  discharge 
from  the  cannon  of  the  Charleston  Battalion  of  Artillery: 

i.  The  United  States  of  America,  may  they  long  enjoy  free- 
dom in  peace. 
i.  The  federal  constitution,  its  friends  and  supporters. 

3.  The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  and  members 
of  the  Senate. 

4.  The  late  members  of  both  houses  of  Congress;  may  their 
successors  inherit  their  wisdom  and  patriotism. 

5.  (By  the  President.)  The  commercial  interests  of 
Charleston. 

6.  Louis  1 6th  and  the  National  Assembly  of  France. 

7.  The  navigation  of  the  United  States;  protected  by  the 
strong  arm  of  the  federal  government,  may  it  increase 
and  flourish. 

8.  Agriculture  and  commerce;  may  their  dependence  on 
each  other  be  properly  understood. 

9.  The  useful  arts  of  peace. 

10.  May  the  merchants  of  the  United  States  continue  to 
merit  the  flattering  compliments  paid  them  by  the  Pres- 
ident at  the  opening  of  the  last  session  of  Congress. 

11.  The  National  bank;  a  general  diffusion  of  its  happy  ef- 
fects throughout  the  United  States. 

12.  The  defenders  of  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  people 
throughout  the  world. 

13.  The  Secretary  of  State;  may  the  important  service  he 
has  rendered  to  the  commercial  interest  of  his  country, 
endear  him  to  every  merchant. 

14.  The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury;  may  his  fame  increase 
with  the  rising  credit  of  his  country. 

15.  May  the  mantle  of  peace  and  friendship  cover  the  world. 

16.  The  fair  daughters  of  America. 

170 


-*um  mai  -ru»,»  ,»uiipti j.«  i 


ik 


ii     ii     n 
ii     ii     ii 


THE   EXCHANGE,   CHARLESTON 


VIEW   OF  CHURCH    STREET,   CHARLESTON,   SHOWING   JUDGE 
HEYWARD's  MANSION   IN  CENTRE 


iJSL     Hft'Urt'f 

OF  FHE 
USMEKSITY  Of  II  U*t:($ 


Charleston 

And  when  the  President  retired  — 

17.  The  illustrious  President  of  the  United  States;  long 
may  he  live  to  enjoy  the  praises  of  a  grateful  people. 

18.  The  lady  of  the  President. 

At  the  conclusion  of  this  ceremony,  which  came  at  eight 
o'clock,  the  "  President  retired  "  —  whereupon  the  ban- 
queters enthusiastically  and  mayhap  hilariously  drank  a 
last  toast  to  "  The  President  of  the  United  States." 

Over  the  President's  head  [reads  a  description  in  the  Ga- 
zette referring  to  the  place  which  he  occupied  at  the  banquet 
table]  was  fabricated,  in  very  ingenious  workmanship,  a  beau- 
tiful triumphal  arch,  from  which  was  suspended  a  wreath  of 
laurel.  It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  add,  that  the  day  and  eve- 
ning were  spent  with  all  that  hilarity,  harmony  and  happy 
festivity  suitable  to  the  occasion. 

The  Charleston  battalion  of  artillery  performed  Military 
Duty  during  the  entertainment  and  the  privates  of  that  an- 
cient, respectable  corps  (who  in  their  official  capacity  have 
uniformly  acquitted  themselves  with  honor)  dined  in  an 
agreeable  manner,  in  a  separate  apartment,  provided  by  the 
corporation.  The  shipping  in  the  harbour  displayed  all  their 
colors  during  the  day  and  St.  Michael's  bells  echoed  forth 
their  joyous  peals. 

An  incident  worthy  of  record  is  associated  with  this 

banquet.     Commodore   Alexander   Gillon,    a   native   of 

Rotterdam,  and  commander  of  the  ill-fated  South  Carolina 

during  the  Revolution,  was  a  figure  in  the  social  world  of 

Charleston  —  owning  a  handsome  residence  in  Charleston 

on  East  Bay,  renamed  "  Batavia,"  where  he  and  his  first 

wife  lived  in  style  prior  to  the  Revolution.    Following  the 

battle  of  Lexington,  a  volunteer  military  organization 

called  the  German  Fusiliers  was  organized  in  Charleston 

171 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

(May,  1775),  with  Gillon  as  captain  —  a  post  he  retained 
until  1777.  During  Washington's  visit,  Gillon  played  a 
prominent  part  —  both  as  former  captain  of  the  German 
Fusiliers  and  as  a  leader  of  society.  At  the  banquet  at  the 
Exchange,  given  by  the  City  Corporation  on  May  3d,  the 
President  was  to  take  in  the  Governor's  lady,  of  course ; 
but  the  question  was  raised  by  the  committee  of  arrange- 
ments: What  other  fair  companions  should  Washington 
have?  "Leave  it  to  me,"  said  the  tactful  Gillon,  "and 
I  will  arrange  things  quite  comme  il  faut."  When  the 
guests  were  seated,  the  gallant  Commodore's  wisdom 
was  universally  approved  —  for  at  the  President's  left 
was  seated  Miss  Claudia  Smith,  the  wittiest  woman  of 
Charleston,  and  immediately  before  his  eyes  across 
the  banquet  table  Mrs.  Richard  Shubrick,  the  most 
beautiful  of  Charleston's  daughters!  Distinction,  wit, 
and  beauty  —  what  more  could  even  the  great  Washing- 
ton desire? 

Early  on  the  morning  of  Wednesday,  4th,  the  President, 
accompanied  by  the  Honorable  Mr.  Izard,  Major-General 
Moultrie,  Brigadier-General  Pinckney,  Major  Rutledge, 
and  Major  Jackson,  viewed  the  remains  of  the  lines  and 
batteries  which  had  been  thrown  up  for  the  defence  of  the 
city  when  attacked  by  the  British  fleet  and  army  under 
Sir  George  Clinton  and  Admiral  Arbuthnot  in  1780.  Mr. 
Izard,  at  this  time  Senator  from  South  Carolina,  was  tall, 
graceful,  and  unusually  prepossessing  in  appearance.  He 
enjoyed  the  confidence  of  Washington  in  an  unusual  de- 
gree, especially  for  acumen  in  judgment  of  men  he  recom- 

172 


Charleston 

mended  to  Washington  for  appointment.  It  appears  from 
the  letters  of  the  period  that  he  influenced  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief to  send  General  Greene  to  take  command 
of  the  Southern  Army,  for  which  he  received  the  thanks  of 
the  Governor  of  South  Carolina.1  With  a  trained  eye  for 
military  works  and  fortifications,  General  Washington 
rode  over  the  whole  ground  covered  by  these  works,  ex- 
hibiting keen  interest  in  an  inspection  of  the  localities  of 
the  enemy's  trenches,  batteries,  parallels,  and  approaches. 
Says  a  writer  in  the  "City  Gazette,"  the  General  was 
"pleased  to  express  great  satisfaction  at  the  very  gallant 
defence  that  had  been  made  by  the  garrison  during  the 
siege."  In  his  diary  he  records:  "I  .  .  .  was  satisfied  that 
the  defence  was  noble  &  honorable  altho'  the  measure  was 
undertaken  upon  wrong  principles  and  impolitic."  2 
On  this  day,  General  M.  Gist,3  Grand  Master  of  the 

1  Ralph  Izard  was  born  near  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  The  family 
residence,  "The  Elms,"  was  situated  in  St.  James  Parish,  Goose  Creek, 
about  seventeen  miles  from  Charleston.  Of  English  ancestry,  he  pursued 
classical  studies  in  Hackney,  and  was  graduated  from  Christ  College,  Cam- 
bridge. He  returned  to  America;  but  in  1771  he  settled  in  England,  and  his 
home  in  England  was  the  centre  of  the  most  intellectual  and  cultured  soci- 
ety. Later  he  removed  to  Paris  to  live,  and  was  appointed  Commissioner  to 
the  Court  of  Tuscany,  being  recalled  in  1779.  When  Commodore  Gillon 
was  sent  from  South  Carolina  to  Europe  to  purchase  frigates,  and  was  un- 
able to  negotiate  the  requisite  loan  on  the  security  of  the  State  Government 
alone,  Izard  came  forward  and  pledged  his  whole  estate  for  the  loan.  He 
returned  to  America  in  1780.  He  was  a  delegate  from  South  Carolina  in  the 
Continental  Congress,  1782-83.  He  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Sen- 
ate, serving  from  March  4,  1789,  to  March  3,  1795,  and  was  President  pro 
tempore  of  the  Senate  from  May  31,  1794,  to  February  20,  1795.  Founder 
of  the  College  of  Charleston.  Died  May  30,  1804,  and  was  buried  at  the 
Parish  Church  of  St.  James,  Goose  Creek.  Cf.  Memoir  in  Correspondence 
of  Ralph  Izard,  vol.  1. 

2  These  lines  were  upon  Charleston  Neck,  extending  from  the  Ashley  to 
the  Cooper  River,  at  the  junction  of  which  the  City  stands. 

3  Mordecai  Gist  was  born  in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  in  1743,  of  English 

173 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

fraternity  of  the  ancient  York  Masons,  "a  tall  and  graceful 
figure,  symmetrical  proportions,  and  expressive  features," 
attended  by  the  other  present  and  past  grand  officers, 
waited  on  their  "beloved  brother,  the  president  of  the 
United  States,"  and  presented  the  following  address: 

Sir  —  Induced  by  a  respect  for  your  public  and  private 
character,  as  well  as  the  relation  in  which  you  stand  with  the 
brethren  of  this  society,  we  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of 
South  Carolina,  Ancient  York  Masons,  beg  leave  to  offer  our 
sincere  congratulations  on  your  arrival  in  this  state. 

We  felicitate  you  on  the  establishment  and  exercise  of  a 
permanent  government,  whose  foundation  was  laid  under 
your  auspices  by  military  achievements,  upon  which  have 
been  progressively  reared  the  pillars  of  the  free  republic  over 
which  you  preside,  supported  by  wisdom,  strength,  and 
beauty  unrivalled  among  the  nations  of  the  world. 

The  fabric  thus  raised  and  committed  to  your  superintend- 
ance,  we  earnestly  wish  may  continue  to  produce  order  and 
harmony  to  succeeding  ages,  and  be  the  asylum  of  virtue  to 
the  oppressed  of  all  parts  of  the  universe. 

When  we  contemplate  the  distresses  of  war,  the  instances 
of  humanity  displayed  by  the  Craft  afford  some  relief  to  the 
feeling  mind;  and  it  gives  us  the  most  pleasing  sensation  to 
recollect,  that  amidst  the  difficulties  attendant  on  your  late 
military  stations,  you  still  associated  with,  and  patronized 
the  Ancient  Fraternity. 

Distinguished  always  by  your  virtues,  more  than  the  ex- 
parentage.  He  was  elected  captain  "  Baltimore  Independent  Company"  at 
beginning  of  the  Revolution.  In  1776  he  was  appointed  major  of  a  battal- 
ion of  Maryland  regulars,  and  with  them  was  at  the  battle  near  Brooklyn. 
In  January,  1779,  he  was  appointed  by  Congress  brigadier-general  in  the 
Continental  Army,  and  took  command  of  the  Second  Maryland  Brigade. 
He  participated  in  the  battle  of  Camden,  1780.  He  was  present  at  the  sur- 
render of  Cornwallis,  and  joined  the  Southern  Army  under  Greene.  In 
1782,  when  the  army  was  remodelled,  he  was  given  the  command  of  the 
Light  Corps.  He  fought  bravely  at  the  battle  of  the  Combahee,  August  6, 
1782,  gaining  a  decisive  victory  over  the  British.  After  the  war  he  resided 
at  his  plantation  near  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  where  he  died  in  1792. 

174 


RALPH   IZARD 


THE  IIBHARY 

OF  1HE 

Un»VERSITY  OP  H  UNOIS 


Charleston 

alted  stations  in  which  you  have  moved,  we  exult  in  the  op- 
portunity you  now  give  us  of  hailing  you  brother  of  our  Order, 
and  trust  from  your  knowledge  of  our  institution  to  merit 
your  countenance  and  support. 

With  fervent  zeal  for  your  happiness,  we  pray  that  a  life  so 
dear  to  the  bosom  of  this  society,  and  to  society  in  general, 
may  be  long,  very  long  preserved;  and  when  you  leave  the 
temporal  symbolic  lodges  of  this  world,  you  may  be  received 
into  the  celestial  lodge  of  light  and  perfection,  where  the 
Grand  Master  Architect  of  the  Universe  presides. 

Done  in  behalf  of  the  Grand  Lodge. 

M.  Gist,  G.  M. 
Charleston,  id  May,  1791. 

The  reply  of  the  President,  which  was  thoughtfully 
composed  —  as  indicated  by  the  corrections  and  dele- 
tions l  —  is  as  follows : 

Gentlemen: 

I  am  much  obliged  by  the  respect  which  you  are  so  good  as 
to  declare  for  my  public  and  private  character.  I  recognize 
with  pleasure  my  relation  to  the  brethren  of  your  Society,  and 
I  accept  with  gratitude  your  congratulations  on  my  arrival  in 
South  Carolina. 

Your  sentiments,  on  the  establishment  and  exercise  of  our 
equal  government,  are  worthy  of  an  association,  whose  prin- 
ciples lead  to  purity  of  morals  and  are  beneficial  of  action. 

The  fabric  of  our  freedom  is  placed  on  the  enduring  basis  of 
public  virtue,  and  will,  I  fondly  hope,  long  continue  to  protect 
the  prosperity  of  the  architects  who  raised  it.  I  shall  be 
happy,  on  every  occasion,  to  evince  my  regard  for  the  Frater- 
nity. For  your  prosperity  individually,  I  offer  my  best  wishes. 

After  these  ceremonies  were  concluded,  the  President 
held  a  short  reception,  the  Grand  Master  introducing  the 
deputy  and  other  attending  brothers. 

1  The  original  draft  of  Washington's  reply  is  in  the  Library  of  Congress. 

I7S 


Washington }s  Southern  Tour 

Th/s  day  the  President  dined  —  "a  very  sumptuous 
dinner"  we  are  told  it  was  —  with  the  members  of  the 
Society  of  the  Cincinnati  in  the  Long  Room  at  McCrady's 
Tavern,1  which  was  handsomely  decorated  with  laurel  and 
flowers.  In  attendance  were  the  Governor,  Lieutenant- 
Governor  and  civil  officers  of  the  State,  the  Intendant  and 
Wardens  of  the  city,  the  members  of  Congress,  the  consuls 
of  foreign  powers,  gentlemen  strangers,  the  officers  of  the 
artillery,  and  a  number  of  the  most  distinguished  charac- 
ters of  the  State.  The  officers  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincin- 
nati at  this  time  were:  Major-General  William  Moultrie, 
President;  Major-General  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney, 
Vice-President;  John  Sandford  Dart,  Secretary;  and 
Charles  Lining,  Treasurer.  Major-General  C.  C.  Pinck- 
ney, who  had  been  Vice-President  of  the  South  Carolina 
Society  since  1786,  was  elected  Vice-President-General  of 
the  General  Society  at  Philadelphia  in  May,  1800,  after 
the  demise  of  Washington,  first  President-General.  In 
May,  1805,  following  the  demise  of  Alexander  Hamilton, 
second  President-General,  General  C.  C.  Pinckney  was 
elected  President-General  of  the  General  Society  of  the 
Cincinnati.2 

After  the  "sumptuous  dinner"  was  consumed,  the  fol- 

1  This  tavern,  which  was  on  the  site  occupied  by  the  Daggett  Printing 
Company  on  East  Bay  (Address  of  Professor  Yates  Snowden,  May  23, 
1901),  was  conducted  by  the  great-grandfather  of  Edward  McCrady,  the 
historian. 

2  In  the  City  Gazette  of  Charleston,  February  10,  1790,  appears  the  "Ad- 
dress to  the  President  of  the  United  States  by  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati, 
in  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  voted  17th  November,  1789,"  signed  "By 
order  of  the  Society,  William  Moultrie,  President";  and  Washington's 
reply. 

I76 


Charleston 

lowing  toasts  were  drunk,  followed  by  a  discharge  from 
the  field  pieces  of  the  Charleston  Battalion  of  Artillery: 

1.  The  United  States. 

2.  The  4th  of  July,  1776. 

3.  Louis  1 6th,  King  of  the  French. 

4.  The  national  assembly  of  France. 

5.  All  nations  in  amity  with  the  United  States. 

6.  Count  d'Estaing  and  officers  of  the  French  navy  who 
served  in  America. 

7.  Count  Rochambeau  and  the  French  officers  who  served 
in  America. 

8.  The  President  of  the  United  States. 

9.  The  Secretary  of  State. 

10.  The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

11.  The  Secretary  of  the  War  Department. 

12.  The  Army  of  the  United  States. 

13.  Agriculture  and  Commerce. 

14.  The  memory  of  those  who  have  fallen  in  defence  of  the 
Liberties  of  America. 

15.  (By  the  President.)  The  memory  of  General  Greene  and 
all  those  officers  who  have  fallen  in  defence  of  America. 

16.  The  Patriotic  Fair  of  America.1 

While  the  dinner  was  in  progress,  a  choir  of  singers  en- 
tertained the  diners  with  vocal  selections. 

In  the  evening  Washington  attended  what  he  describes 
with  (for  him)  exceptional  praise  as  a  "very  elegant  danc- 
ing Assembly"  at  the  Exchange,  given  by  the  City  Cor- 
poration.  The  occasion  was  extraordinarily  brilliant;  the 

1  The  South  Carolina  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  was  organized  at  Charles- 
ton, August  29,  1783,  with  the  following  officers:  Major-General  William 
Moultrie,  President;  Brigadier-General  Isaac  Huger,  Vice-President;  Ma- 
jor Thomas  Pinckney,  Secretary;  Captain  Charles  Lining,  Treasurer;  Lieu- 
tenant James  Kennedy,  Assistant  Treasurer,  Lieutenant  Samuel  Beekman 
and  John  Sandford  Dart,  Esq.,  Stewards.  Consult  the  Original  Institution 
of  the  General  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  together  with  the  Rules  and  By-Laws 
of  the  State  Society  of  South  Carolina.  Charleston,  1880. 

177 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

throng  came  to  enjoy  themselves  not  less  than  to  pay 
honor  to  the  revered  President.  In  the  "City  Gazette" 
the  ball  is  thus  described: 

The  ladies  were  all  superbly  dressed  and  most  of  them  wore 
ribbons  with  different  inscriptions  expressive  of  their  esteem 
and  respect  for  the  president  such  as:  "long  live  the  presi- 
dent," etc.  Joy,  satisfaction  and  gratitude  illumined  every 
countenance  and  revelled  in  each  heart,  whilst  the  demon- 
strations of  grateful  respect  shown  him  seemed  to  give  him 
the  utmost  heart  felt  satisfaction  which  nobly  displayed  itself 
in  his  countenance. 

The  beautiful  arch  of  lamps  in  front  of  the  exchange  was 
illuminated;  and  over  the  entrance  there  was  a  superb  trans- 
parency in  the  centre  "  Deliciis  Patriae  "  and  at  the  top  G.  W. 

The  fusileer  company  was  drawn  up  before  the  exchange  to 
maintain  order,  and  exhibited  a  very  pleasing  appearance.  In 
short  every  circumstance  of  the  evening's  entertainment  was 
truly  picturesque  of  the  most  splendid  elegance.  At  half  past 
ten,  the  company  sat  down  to  supper;  at  the  table  were  seated 
more  than  250  ladies,  besides  gentlemen.  The  brilliancy  of 
the  company  and  elegance  of  the  supper  surpassed  all  concep- 
tion.1 

1  According  to  Washington's  diary,  there  were  present  "256  elegantly 
dressed  and  handsome  ladies  "  —  truly  a  wonderful  group,  since  the  gallant 
Washington,  it  will  be  noted,  makes  no  exceptions  —  all  were  "  handsome." 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  FOURTH  STAGE 

Charleston  (continued) 

ON  Thursday  morning  early,  the  President,  accom- 
panied by  Intendant  Vanderhorst,  Major  Butler,1 
Mr.  Izard,  Generals  Moultrie  and  Pinckney,  Majors 
Rutledge  and  Jackson,  Captain  Cochran  and  Mr.  Henry 
Laurens,  Jr.,2  made  a  visit  to  the  forts  of  Charleston  — 
"both  of  which,"  notes  the  President,  "are  in  Ruins,  and 

1  Pierce  Butler,  son  of  Sir  Richard  Butler,  was  born  in  Ireland,  July  u, 
1744.  He  came  to  America  as  a  member  of  the  British  army,  and  was  sta- 
tioned in  Boston.  He  resigned  from  the  British  army  in  1773,  and  settled  in 
Charleston,  South  Carolina.  During  the  Revolution  he  was  Adjutant-Gen- 
eral of  South  Carolina.  He  sat  in  the  Continental  Congress,  1787-88.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  convention  which  framed  the  Federal  Constitution  in 
1787,  and  was  elected  as  a  Democrat  to  the  United  States  Senate,  and 
served  from  March  4,  1789,  to  1796,  when  he  resigned.  He  was  again 
elected  to  the  United  States  Senate,  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death 
of  John  Ewing  Calhoun,  November  3,  1802;  took  his  seat  October  18,  1803; 
resigned  in  1 804.  Appointed  director  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  he 
removed  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  died  February  15,  1822. 

2  Henry  Laurens,  Jr.,  the  son  of  Henry  Laurens  and  Eleanor  Ball,  was 
born  August  25,  1763.  In  April,  1771,  he  was  sent  to  London  to  stay  with 
the  Reverend  Richard  Clarke  in  Islington  for  his  education.  His  father  sent 
minute  instructions  as  to  his  care  —  "he  was  to  be  clad  in  decent  apparel 
unmixed  with  any  kind  of  foppery";  "keep  him  in  due  subordination  .  . . 
impress  the  fear  of  God  upon  his  mind."  His  father  and  brothers  followed 
in  July.  All  three  boys  were  together  in  Islington  for  a  short  time.  Later 
they  were  taken  to  Geneva.  In  1774  Henry  went  to  Westminster  School. 
When  his  father  was  imprisoned  in  the  Tower,  Henry  was  allowed  to  see 
him  once,  "which  deeply  affected  the  father  who  had  not  seen  his  17  yr.  old 
son  for  6  years."  In  1785,  having  returned  to  America,  Henry,  the  only 
surviving  son,  went  overland  with  his  father  to  Charleston.  He  had  not 
been  in  his  native  State  since  he  was  a  child,  yet  in  1785  he  was  elected  to 
the  Legislature,  but  did  not  serve.  He  was  again  elected  in  1787.  On  May 
26,  1792,  he  was  married  to  Eliza  Rutledge. 

179 


Washington's  Southern  Tonr 

scarcely  a  trace  of  the  latter  [Fort  Moultrie]  left  —  the 
former  [Fort  Johnson]  quite  fallen."  At  Fort  Johnson  on 
James  Island  the  party  partook  of  an  "exceedingly  good 
breakfast,"  which  the  commandant,  Captain  Kalteisen, 
had  all  in  readiness  for  them  upon  their  arrival.  Under  his 
guidance  they  inspected  the  fort  and  took  note  of  the  com- 
manding situation  for  a  battery  on  the  marsh  immediately 
opposite  the  city.  They  next  visited  Fort  Moultrie  on 
Sullivan's  Island,  viewed  the  remains  of  the  fort  and  bat- 
talions, and  the  bridge  built  by  General  Gadsden.  Gen- 
eral Washington  listened  with  the  keenest  interest  to  the 
animated  recital  by  that  gallant  soldier  and  entertaining 
conversationist,  General  Moultrie,  of  the  defeat,  on  June 
28,  1776,  by  the  forces  under  his  command  of  the  British 
fleet  under  Sir  Peter  Parker.  After  eating  lunch  —  de- 
scribed in  the  quaint  language  of  the  period  as  "an  excel- 
ent  collation"  —  the  party  returned  to  the  city  about 
two  o'clock,  the  President  at  parting  expressing  the  great 
satisfaction  he  had  received  from  the  morning's  excursion. 
At  four  o'clock  Governor  Pinckney  gave  a  magnificent 
reception  at  his  home  on  Meeting  Street,1  the  appointment 
and  decorations  being  lavish  in  the  extreme.  Traditions 
long  survived  in  Charleston  of  the  exceptional  beauty  and 
elegance  of  this  entertainment,  which  was  given  to  the 
President  and  the  principal  gentlemen  of  the  civil,  clerical, 

1  "  By  the  sixties,"  says  Professor  Snowden,  "  this  house  had  been  torn 
down,  and  the  very  earth  upon  which  it  had  been  built  had  been  removed  to 
form  one  of  the  fortifications  on  White  Point  Battery  for  the  defence  of 
Charleston."  In  1901  the  house  standing  upon  this  site  was  owned  by 
George  W.  Williams,  Esq. 

180 


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THE  HMAHY 

Of  IHE 

UMi¥ERSITY  OF  tilimMS 


Charleston 

and  military  professions.  At  this  entertainment,  accord- 
ing to  a  contemporary  account,  the  following  toasts  were 
drunk  with  gusto,  to  salvos  of  applause: 

i.  United  States. 

i.  Congress  of  the  United  States. 

3.  4th  of  July  1776. 

4.  Lewis  Sixteenth. 

5.  National  Assembly  of  France. 

6.  Friendly  power  of  Europe. 

7.  Fair  America. 

8.  Memory  of  General  Greene. 

9.  Agriculture  and  Commerce. 

10.  Arts  and  Sciences. 

11.  Friends  of  freedom  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe. 

12.  Marquis  de  la  Fayette. 

13.  Memory  of  those  who  have  fallen  in  the  defence  of  the 
rights  of  the  mainland. 

After  the  President  retired,  the  following  was  drunk : 

14.  The  President  of  the  United  States. 

That  evening,  in  the  City  Hall,  was  given  one  of  the 

most    brilliant    concerts  in    the  history   of  that  justly 

famous   and   unique    musical    and   social    organization, 

the  St.  Cecilia  Society.    On  this  occasion  the  Amateur 

Society,  which  had  participated  in  the  vocal  greetings  to 

Washington  upon  his  arrival,  gave  their  assistance  to  the 

St.  Cecilia.    This  Society,  even  then,  had  a  long  and 

honorable  history,  having  been  inaugurated  in  1737  by  a 

concert  given  upon  "Thursday  being  St.  Cecilias  day," 

but  it  was  not  formally  organized  until  1762.  The  hall  of 

the  Exchange  had  recently  undergone  an  alteration;  and 

was  most  handsomely  decorated  with  various  ornaments. 

The  pillars  were  "  ingeniously  entwined  with  laurel " ;  and 

181 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

about  the  hall  were  decorative  pieces  bearing  patriotic  de- 
vices complimentary  to  the  President:  "Hominis  jura,  de- 
fendit  et  curat";  "Magnus  in  pace";  "Magnus  in  bello"; 
"Vitam  imprudere  bono";  "Diogene  aujourdhui  casse- 
roit  la  lanterne."  The  most  arresting  of  the  lofty  "senti- 
ments," which  exhibits  the  marks  of  feminine  sensibility, 
attracted  every  eye : 

With  grateful  praises  of  the  hero's  fame, 

We'll  teach  our  infants'  tongues  to  lisp  his  name. 

An  excellent  band  of  music  played  in  the  orchestra,  we  are 
told;  and  they  were  "accompanied  in  the  vocal  strain  by 
the  choir  of  St.  Phillip's  Church."  1 

Even  the  imperturbable  Washington,  a  great  admirer  of 
feminine  charms,  was  dazzled  by  the  sparkling  scene  and 
beautiful  gentlewomen  of  Charleston:  "In  the  evening 
went  to  a  Concert  at  the  Exchange  at  wch.  there  were 
at  least  400  ladies  the  number  &  appearance  of  wch 
exceeded  any  thing  of  the  kind  I  had  ever  seen." 

Friday,  6th,  was  a  light  day  for  the  President.    He  be- 

1  In  his  Journal,  March  3,  1773,  Josiah  Quincy  of  Boston  described  a  St. 
Cecilia  concert:  "The  music  was  good,  the  two  base  viols  and  French  horns 
were  grand.  A  Frenchman  played  the  first  violin,  and  a  solo  incomparably 
better  than  any  one  I  ever  heard.  He  has  a  salary  of  500  [50?]  guineas  a 
year  from  the  St.  Cecilia  Society.  There  were  upwards  of  two  hundred  la- 
dies present,  and  it  was  called  no  great  number.  In  loftiness  of  headdress, 
these  ladies  stoop  to  the  daughters  of  the  north  —  in  richness  of  dress,  sur- 
pass them,  in  health  and  floridity  of  countenance  vail  to  them.  In  taciturn- 
ity during  the  performance,  greatly  before  our  ladies;  in  noise  and  flirtation 
after  the  music  is  over,  pretty  much  on  a  par.  If  our  ladies  have  any  advan- 
tage it  is  in  white  and  red,  vivacity  and  spirit.  The  gentlemen  many  of 
them  dressed  with  richness  and  elegance,  uncommon  with  us:  many  with 
swords  on."  (Memoir  0/  the  Life  of  Josiah  Quincy,  Jun.,  by  Josiah  Quincy. 
Boston,  1825.) 

182 


Charleston 

gan  the  day  by  taking  a  horseback  ride  through  most  of  the 
principal  streets  of  the  city.  Upon  his  return,  the  irrepress- 
ible "I.  H.  W."  bobbed  up  in  the  "Gazette"  with  a  most 
high-flown  eulogy  to  Washington  —  of  whom  the  poet- 
aster justly  says:  "Freedom  for  all,  was  all  thy  soul  re- 
quir'd."  It  would  be  interesting  —  to  say  the  least  —  to 
fathom  the  emotions  of  Washington  as  he  sat  down  after 
breakfast  and  indulged  in  the  "luxuries"  of  a  nation's 
thanks : 

Rome  Fabius  grac'd  for  natural  prudence  fam'd 
And  Aristides,  Greece,  the  just  surnam'd 
Both  heroes  with  peculiar  merits  shone 
Their  merits  meet  in  Washington  alone. 
Great  man!  When  pillar  of  a  drooping  land, 
Well  did'st  thou  wield  the  scepter  of  command. 
When  Great  Britannia  with  her  dreadful  arms, 
Fill'd  thy  desponding  country  with  alarms; 
Thru  skill  with  caution  all  thy  deeds  display 'd 
In  dangers  cheerful  nor  by  loss  dismay 'd; 
Till  thy  unequalled  prudence  gave  the  blow, 
Which  sav'd  unhurt  thy  brave  though  vanquished  foe 
Thy  country's  wrongs  gave  courage  to  thy  breast. 
The  sons  of  Britons  tyranny  detest. 
To  free  thy  country  was  thy  only  aim, 
Thy  present  action  loud  this  truth  proclaim  — 
Caesar  when  tow'ring  on  ambitions  height, 
Sprung  to  imperial  sway  with  quick  delight, 
But  thy  transcendent  soul  no  crown  desired 
Freedom  for  all,  was  all  thy  soul  requir'd. 
When  war  had  yielded  to  the  spring  of  peace, 
Thy  country  own'd  from  thee  came  such  release. 
Though  long  trained  soldiers  lov'd  thee  as  their  chief 
Ev'n  when  America  had  gain'd  relief; 
Yet  did  thy  patriotic  breast  with  joy  dilate, 
And  give  their  powers  to  each  admiring  state 
183 


Washington* s  Southern  Tour 

That  glorious  day  repaid  thy  mortal  strife 
A  nation's  thanks  are  luxuries  in  life 
Well  hast  thou  earn'd  thy  never  fading  bays, 
The  world  admits  as  just  thy  country's  praise. 

I.  H.  W. 

This  day  the  President  dined  "in  a  private  manner" 
with  the  Honorable  Pierce  Butler,  one  of  the  Senators 
from  South  Carolina,  there  being  present  a  number  of  con- 
genial gentlemen.  That  evening  the  President  attended  a 
ball  given  by  Governor  Pinckney  at  his  home,  where  was 
gathered  a  "select  company"  of  ladies  and  gentlemen. 
The  ladies,  sacrificing  for  the  nonce  their  elaborate  floral 
headdresses  and  imposing  feathers,  wore  handsome  fillets 
or  bandeaux  upon  which  was  drawn  or  painted  Washing- 
ton's portrait,  with  the  national  colors  entwined.  "Every 
hand  that  could  hold  a  pencil,  professional  or  amateur," 
says  Fraser,  "was  enlisted  to  furnish  them."  1  Whatever 
the  great  hero's  former  conquests  in  peace  and  war,  cer- 
tain it  is  that  he  had  never  before  seen  himself  go  to  the 
heads  of  so  many  ladies  at  one  time.  Nor  must  we  forget 
the  patriotic  sacrifice  of  these  ladies  in  "  killing"  the  delicate 
tints  of  their  own  gowns  of  azure  and  maize  and  mauve 
with  the  primary  red  and  blue  of  the  national  colors.  The 
most  memorable  of  the  bandeaux  were  ribbons  on  which 
was  inscribed  in  large  letters  of  gold  : 

Health  to  Columbia's  noblest  son 

Her  light  and  shield  —  great  Washington. 

Before  breakfast  on  Saturday  the  President,  accom- 
panied by  the  Honorable  Pierce  Butler,  General  Moultrie, 

1  Fraser's  Reminiscences. 
184 


CHARLES  PINCKNEY 


the  mbaw 

OF  IHE 
IMVERSITY  OF  li  UKOIS 


Charleston 

General  Pinckney,  Major  E.  Rutledge,  and  the  Attorney- 
General  of  South  Carolina,  and  the  Intendant,  who  con- 
ducted the  party,  visited  the  Orphan  House. 

In  the  act,  passed  in  1783  by  the  Legislature  of  South 
Carolina,  incorporating  the  city  of  Charleston,  the  "care 
of  providing  for  the  poor,  and  maintaining  and  educating 
poor  orphan  children  "  was  imposed  upon  it.  During  the 
next  five  years,  Commissioners  of  the  Poor  appointed  by 
the  City  Council  collected  orphan  children  and  boarded 
them  out  "at  several  private  houses,  under  the  care  and 
direction  of  different  respectable  ladies,  and  educated  them 
at  schools  in  the  City,  at  its  expense."  In  1788  John  Robert- 
son, a  merchant  in  moderate  business,  and  a  philanthropic 
citizen,  actively  busied  himself  in  the  effort  to  make  per- 
manent provision  for  the  care  of  the  orphan  poor.  As  the 
result  of  his  efforts,  the  City  Council  of  Charleston  passed 
an  ordinance  providing  for  the  establishment  of  an  Orphan 
House  in  Charleston.  The  Commissioners  appointed  by 
the  Council  hired  from  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Pinckney  a  com- 
modious building  in  Ellery  Street,  later  Market  Street,  on 
or  near  the  site  of  the  "Sailors'  Home"  (1855),  ana"  col- 
lected and  domesticated  therein  upwards  of  one  hundred 
children.  "This  asylum  has  recorded  on  its  journals  the 
interesting  fact,  that  on  25th  May,  1791,  it  was  visited  by 
George  Washington,  president  of  the  United  States,  then 
on  his  southern  tour,  who  expressed  great  satisfaction  at 
the  establishment  of  such  an  institution,  and  invoked  a 
benediction  on  it  and  its  little  inmates.  That  blessing  and 

prayer  have  been  graciously  heard  and  answered  in  the 

185 


Washington' s  Southern  Tour 

prosperity  and  extensive  usefulness  of  the  institution."  ! 
When  the  sixth  anniversary  of  the  institution  was  cele- 
brated in  1795,  the  Reverend  Doctor  George  Buist,  pas- 
tor of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  the  orator  of  the 
occasion,  speaks  of  the  "Orphan  House  building  of  that 
day,  as  the  most  magnificent  edifice  of  the  kind  of  which 
the  new  world  can  boast."  According  to  a  Government 
report,  Department  of  the  Interior,  this  institution  has 
the  longest  continuous  existence  of  any  institution  of  the 
kind  in  the  United  States.2 

The  President  and  party  were  received  by  the  Commis- 
sioners—  who  were  doubtless  surprised,  as  Roosevelt's 
fiiends  used  to  be,  by  unusual  hours  and  exceptional  ac- 
tions —  :  John  Mitchell,  John  Robertson,  Richard  Cole, 
Thomas  Coibett,  Samuel  Beckman,  and  Charles  Lining. 
Mr.  Besselieu  and  all  the  boys  under  his  tuition  were  pres- 
ent. The  President  expiessed  the  "highest  approbation" 
of  the  institution,  after  the  Commissioners  had  submitted 
for  his  perusal  the  ordinance  for  establishing  the  Orphan 
House,  the  rules  of  the  house,  the  journals  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  board,  and  the  register.  The  President  visited 
the  breakfast  room,  where  the  children,  one  hundred  and 

1  The  Proceedings  of  the  Sixty-Sixth  Anniversary  of  the  Orphan  House  of 
Charleston,  South  Carolina  (Charleston,  1855). 

2  Consult  Centennial  Proceedings,  Charleston  Orphan  House  (Charleston, 
1 891).  This  publication  contains  illustrations:  of  the  Orphan  House  as 
completed,  in  1794,  located  on  vacant  city  land,  between  Boundary  (now 
Calhoun)  and  Vanderhorst  Streets;  and  of  the  new  Orphan  House  as  it  was 
in  1890.  The  Commissioners  elected  in  1790  were  Arnoldus  Vanderhprst, 
Intendant,  as  Chairman  ex  officio;  John  Mitchell,  John  Robertson,  Richard 
Cole,  Thomas  Corbett,  Charles  Lining,  William  Marshall,  Thomas  Jones, 
and  Samuel  Beckman. 

186 


Charleston 

seven  in  all,  were  assembled;  and  on  his  departure  "very 
pathetically  pronounced  his  benediction  on  them,"  an 
antique  use  of  language  which,  while  expressing  the  fact, 
provokes  a  smile  over  what  was  doubtless  an  affecting 
scene.  After  partaking  of  a  "  genteel  breakfast "  (whatever 
that  may  be !)  in  the  Commissioners'  room,  the  President 
took  his  leave  —  wishing  the  Commissioners  all  success  in 
their  "laudable  and  benevolent  endeavors."  Before  re- 
turning to  his  quarters  the  President  ascended  the  steeple 
of  St.  Michael's  Church  to  the  balcony,  whence  he  ob- 
tained an  extensive  view  of  the  city,  harbor,  rivers,  and 
adjacent  country.  "The  whole  is  seen  in  one  view  and  to 
advantage,"  he  notes  in  his  diary,  "the  Gardens  &  green 
trees  which  are  interpersed  adding  much  to  the  beauty  of 
the  prospect." 

The  festivities  of  this,  perhaps  the  most  socially  hectic, 
week  of  Washington's  career  were  concluded,  fittingly 
enough,  with  a  "sumptuous  entertainment"  in  the  Ex- 
change given  to  the  President  by  the  merchants  of 
Charleston.  This  was  doubtless  the  most  widely  repre- 
sentative, in  personnel,  of  all  of  the  receptions — being  at- 
tended by  the  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor,  Senators, 
Federal,  State,  and  City  officers,  all  the  members  of  both 
Houses  of  the  Assembly  for  Charleston  District  who 
were  in  town,  Representatives  in  Congress,  the  Intendant 
and  Wardens,  the  clergy  of  every  denomination,  and 
"many  respectable  strangers." 

The  description  of  the  decorations,  which  appeared  in 

the  "City  Gazette,"  summons  a  vivid  picture  of  the 

187 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

scene  and  gives  us  an  insight  into  the  aesthetic  tastes  of 
our  ancestors  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  ago: 

The  walls  of  the  exchange  were  beautifully  decorated  with 
flowers  &  shrubbery,  wreaths  of  laurel  encircling  the  arches, 
over  the  president's  head  was  exhibited  an  emblematical 
painting  representing  commerce  distributing  plenty  over  the 
globe.  Opposite  under  the  center  arch  was  exhibited  a  ship 
in  miniature,  handsomely  decorated  and  furnished  with  lamps 
to  the  number  of  136  which  in  the  evening  were  lighted  up. 
This  at  once  discovered  a  beautifully  emblematical  figure  and 
formed  a  most  happy  substitute  for  a  brilliant  chandelier;  on 
her  stern  was  painted  "The  Commerce  of  Charleston"  and 
the  repeated  acclamations  of  the  company  testified  their 
wishes  for  her  success. 

The  company  assembled  to  the  number  of  upwards  of 
three  hundred  in  the  City  Hall;1  and  on  the  President's 
arrival  —  which  was  the  dramatic  moment  of  the  day  — 
the  ship  America  of  Charleston  which  was  moored  in  the 
harbor  fired  a  federal  salute.  About  half-past  four  the 
company  sat  down  to  an  elegant  dinner  —  the  board 
groaning  with  "every  delicacy  that  the  country  and 
season  could  afford"  and  the  wines  being  "excellent  and 
in  great  variety."  The  America  fired  a  salute  of  thirteen 
guns  after  each  of  the  following  toasts : 

1.  The  United  States  of  America,  may  they  long  enjoy 
freedom  in  peace. 

1  The  City  Hall,  or,  as  it  was  then  called,  "The  Public  Offices,"  was  lo- 
cated on  the  southwest  corner  of  Broad  and  Meeting  Streets  where  the 
United  States  Post-Office  building  is  now  located.  This  location  was 
owned  and  used  for  city  purposes  by  Charleston  until  1886.  President 
Washington  had  only  two  short  city  blocks  to  go  from  the  City  Hall  to  the 
Old  Exchange.  Consult  The  Charleston  Directory  (1790),  a  copy  of  which 
is  in  the  Charleston  Library.  For  this  information  I  am  indebted  to  the 
Reverend  William  Way,  D.D.,  of  Charleston. 

188 


Charleston 

2.  The  federal  constitution,  its  friends  and  supporters. 

3.  The  vice-president  of  the  United  States  and  members  of 
the  senate. 

(By  the  President.  The  commercial  interest  of  Charles- 
ton.) 

4.  The  late  members  of  both  houses  of  Congress;  may  their 
successors  inherit  their  wisdom  and  patriotism. 

5.  Louis  16-  and  the  national  assembly  of  France;  a 
speedy  and  successful  termination  of  their  labours. 

6.  Agriculture  and  commerce;  may  their  dependence  on 
each  other  be  properly  understood. 

7.  The  navigation  of  the  United  States;  protected  by  the 
strong  arm  of  the  federal  government,  may  it  increase 
and  flourish. 

8.  The  useful  arts  of  peace. 

9.  May  the  merchants  of  the  United  States  continue  to 
merit  the  flattering  compliment  paid  them  by  the  presi- 
dent at  the  opening  of  the  last  session  of  Congress. 

10.  The  national  bank;  a  general  diffusion  of  its  happy  ef- 
fects throughout  the  United  States. 

11.  The  defenders  of  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  people 
throughout  the  world. 

12.  The  fair  daughters  of  America. 

13.  The  secretary  of  state;  may  the  important  service  he 
has  rendered  to  the  commercial  interest  of  his  country 
endear  him  to  every  merchant. 

14.  The  secretary  of  the  Treasury;  may  his  fame  increase 
with  the  rising  credit  of  his  country. 

15.  May  the  mantle  of  peace  and  friendship  cover  the 
world. 

And  when  the  President  had  retired : 

16.  The  illustrious  president  of  the  United  States;  long  may 
he  live  to  enjoy  the  praises  of  a  grateful  people. 

At  eight  o'clock  the  President  "retired  to  the  City 
Hall " ;  that  is,  presumably  to  the  portico  facing  the  ocean, 

whence  he  had  a  view  of  the  fireworks  displayed  on  the 

189 


JVashingtorts  Southern  Tour 

America.  This  ship  with  its  multitude  of  lanterns  stood 
out  a  gleaming  constellation  of  lights,  the  letters  "V.  W.," 
for  Vivat  Washington,  shining  brightly  forth  in  bold  out- 
line against  the  dusky  background  of  the  summer  night. 

In  a  final  flourish  of  patriotic  affection  the  "City 
Gazette"  epitomizes  the  common  sentiment  of  the  people 
of  Charleston  whom  Washington  graciously  described  as 
"wealthy  —  Gay  —  &  hospitable " : 

The  harmony  and  hilarity  which  prevailed  throughout 
were  strongly  demonstrative  of  the  general  gratitude  and  joy; 
and  it  must  have  afforded  the  highest  gratification  to  every 
true  patriot  to  have  observed  the  man  whom  we  most  vener- 
ate —  venerated  by  all. 

One  of  the  most  signal  tributes  paid  to  Washington 
during  the  Southern  tour  —  a  tribute  compounded  of  af- 
fection, admiration,  and  regard  for  posterity  —  was  the 
decision  of  the  City  Council  of  Charleston  to  commission 
John  Trumbull,  a  recent  visitor  to  Charleston,  to  paint 
Washington's  portrait.  On  the  journal  of  the  City  Council 
for  May  7,  1791,  appears  the  following: 

Resolved,  unanimously,  That  His  Honor  the  Intendant  in 
behalf  of  the  City  Council  and  their  Constituents,  be  desired 
to  request  of  George  Washington  Esquire,  President  of  the 
United  States,  That  he  will  be  pleased,  when  it  is  convenient 
to  him,  to  permit  his  Portrait  to  be  taken  by  Colonel  Trum- 
bull, in  order  that  it  may  be  placed  in  the  City  Hall,  as  the 
most  lasting  testimony  of  their  Attachment  to  his  person,  to 
commemorate  his  arrival  in  the  metropolis  of  this  State,  and 
to  hand  down  to  posterity  the  resemblance  of  the  Man,  to 
whom  they  are  indebted  for  the  blessings  of  Peace,  Liberty 
and  Independence. 

Pet.  Bounetheau:  City  Clerk 
190 


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Copyrightby  the  Detroit  Publishing  Co. 

WASHINGTON  ON  THE  EVE  OF  THE  BATTLE  OF  PRINCETON 
By  Colonel  John  Trumbull 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON 
Painted  by  Colonel  John  Trumbull  for  the  City  of  Charleston 


Charleston 

A  representative  of  the  City  Council  waited  upon  the 
President  to  prefer  this  request,  to  which  he  readily  as- 
sented. One  of  South  Carolina's  representatives  in  Con- 
gress, William  Loughton  Smith,  gave  the  commission, 
which  was  unlimited,  to  Colonel  Trumbull  who,  on  that 
account,  as  he  records  in  his  autobiography,  undertook 
it  con  amore  — 

meaning  to  give  his  military  character,  in  the  most  sublime 
moment  of  its  exertion  —  the  evening  previous  to  the  battle 
of  Princeton;  when  viewing  the  vast  superiority  of  his  ap- 
proaching enemy,  and  the  impossibility  of  again  crossing  the 
Delaware,  or  retreating  down  the  river,  he  conceives  the  plan 
of  returning  by  a  night  march  into  the  country  from  which  he 
had  just  been  driven,  thus  cutting  off  the  enemy's  communi- 
cation, and  destroying  his  depot  of  stores  and  provisions  at 
Brunswick.  I  told  the  President  of  my  object;  he  entered  into 
it  warmly,  and,  as  the  work  advanced,  we  talked  of  the  scene, 
its  dangers,  its  almost  desperation.  He  looked  the  scene  again, 
and  I  happily  transferred  to  the  canvas,  the  lofty  expression 
of  his  animated  countenance,  the  high  resolve  to  conquer  or 
to  perish.  The  result  was  in  my  own  opinion  eminently  suc- 
cessful, and  the  general  was  satisfied.  But  it  did  not  meet  the 
views  of  Mr.  Smith.  He  admired,  he  was  personally  pleased, 
but  he  thought  the  city  would  be  better  satisfied  with  a  more 
matter-of-fact  likeness,  such  as  they  had  recently  seen  him, 
—  calm,  tranquil,  peaceful. 

Oppressed  as  the  President  was  with  business,  I  was  reluc- 
tant to  ask  him  to  sit  again.  I  however  waited  upon  him, 
stated  Mr.  Smith's  objection,  and  he  cheerfully  submitted  to  a 
second  penance,  adding,  "  Keep  this  picture  for  yourself,  Mr. 
Trumbull,  and  finish  it  to  your  own  taste."  I  did  so  —  an- 
other was  painted  for  Charleston,  agreeable  to  their  taste  — 
a  view  of  the  city  in  the  background,  a  horse,  with  scenery, 
and  plants  of  the  climate;  and  when  the  State  Society  of  Cin- 
cinnati of  Connecticut  dissolved  themselves,  the  first  picture, 

I9l 


Washington! 's  Southern  Tour 

at  the  expense  of  some  of  the  members,  was  presented  to  Yale 
College.1 

The  decision  of  the  City  Council  adverse  to  the  first  pic- 
ture, as  expressed  through  Mr.  Smith,  was  all  the  more 
singular  in  view  of  Trumbull's  own  opinion  that  this  pic- 
ture was  "the  best  certainly  of  those  which  I  painted,  and 
the  best,  in  my  estimation,  which  exists,  in  his  heroic 
military  character."  The  President  had  so  endeared  him- 
self recently  to  the  people  of  Charleston  in  the  benignant 
role  of  peace  President  that  Mr.  Smith's  explanation  needs 
no  gloss.2 

The  citizens  of  South  Carolina  generally  —  and  not 
merely  the  inhabitants  of  Charleston  —  vied  with  each 
other  in  paying  every  courtesy  to  the  President.  Even  the 
venerable  Thomas  Sumter,  although  unable  to  be  present 
in  person,  sent  his  son  to  represent  him,  as  evidenced  in  the 
following  letter: 

Dear  Sir, 

Being  informed  by  my  son  that  he  will  wait  on  you  in 
Chas:ton  at  your  arrival,  I  am  happy  in  having  occasion  of  of- 
fering you  the  sincerest  welcome  to  our  State,  together  with 
my  best  wishes  for  your  health  &  happiness  not  only  at 
present  but  in  perpetuity. 

In  your  travels  you  may  yet  remark  the  traces  of  British 
devastation  &,  I  am  afraid,  the  pernicious  effects  of  impol- 
itic counsels  and  lax  principles.  But  you  will  also  discern  a 
happy  contrast  to  this  representation,  in  the  prospects  of 

1  The  portrait  now  in  the  City  Hall,  Charleston,  was  regarded  as  an  ex- 
cellent likeness  by  those  who  had  seen  Washington  about  the  time  it  was 
made.  Colonel  Trumbull  had  served  as  Washington's  aide,  and  had  made  a 
close  study  of  his  features  and  person.    (Consult  Fraser:  Reminiscences.) 

2  J.  Trumbull:  Autobiography,  Reminiscences  and  Letters.  (New  York, 
1841.) 

192 


Charleston 

vigor  &  prosperity  that  are  now  budding  from  the  unity  of 
our  American  Governments,  and  which  have  been  so  strongly 
assured  to  us  by  the  happy  management  which  has  charac- 
terized the  first  &  most  trying  period  of  your  Presidency. 

I  hope,  Sir,  this  freedom  will  be  excused,  as  I  have  been 
moved  to  it  from  considerations  of  the  highest  esteem  &  the 
warmest  regard.  And  likewise  to  declare  how  happy  the 
People  of  this  quarter  and  myself  should  be  made,  by  having 
an  opportunity  of  receiving  one  amongst  us,  who  is  always 
thought  &  spoken  of  with  most  affectionate  emotion. 

We  have  been  led  to  suggest  our  desire  from  a  report  of 
your  having  it  in  your  intention  to  visit  Collumbia  & 
Camden  —  the  first  lies  opposite  to  Stateburgh,  at  30  miles 
distance  &  the  latter  at  not  more  than  20  —  So  that  the  de- 
viation will  be,  perhaps,  more  trifling  than  the  pleasure  which 
the  view  of  those  Highlands  may  afford,  which  have  been 
doubtless  described  to  you. 

Allow  me,  Dear  Sir,  to  subscribe  myself  with  the  truest 
sentiments  of  respect  &  regard,  yr  most  obd.-  Hb-  Ser- 

Thos.  Sumter  Sen-  1 
nth  April  1 79 1 
Stateburgh 

A  pleasing  and  significant  incident  of  Washington's 
visit  arose  out  of  the  offer  by  the  Charleston  Battalion  of 
Artillery  of  their  official  attendance  upon  the  President 
during  his  stay  —  as  well  as  regularly  to  mount  guard  for 
the  purpose.  Washington  literally  won  all  hearts  by  his 
reply  —  politely  declining  the  friendly  offer  and  declaring 
that  he  considered  himself  perfectly  safe  in  "the  affection 
and  amicable  attachment  of  the  people." 

Not  content  with  the  public  festivities  in  Washington's 
honor,  the  thirteen  American  captains  who  rowed  the 

1  From  a  copy  in  the  Draper  MSS.,  8W48,  Wisconsin  Historical  Society. 
Draper  has  written  on  the  margin:  "Copied  from  the  original  in  Simon 
Gratz's  Collection  —  &  by  him  furnished  to  me.   L.  C.  D.  Sep.  1886." 

193 


fVashingtori's  Southern  Tour 

barge  in  which  the  President  came  in  from  HaddrelPs 

Point  had  a  special  "  function  "  of  their  own  on  Monday  — 

an  "elegant  entertainment"  at  McCrady's  Tavern  —  to 

which  a  number  of  masters  of  vessels  were  invited.   The 

following  toasts  were  drunk,  especially  significant  being 

those  to  John  Paul  Jones  and  Captain  Barry: 

Our  illustrious  president. 

United  States  of  America. 

The  governor  and  State  of  South  Carolina. 

The  federal  government;  may  it  be  equal  to  time. 

The  memory  of  fallen  heroes  in  defence  of  America. 

Lewis  XVIth  and  the  national  assembly. 

The  sufferers  in  the  cause  of  Freedom. 

The  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  liberty's  viceroy. 

John  Paul  Jones. 

Captain  Barry. 

The  memories  of  Biddle  and  Pickering. 

Protection  to  our  commerce. 

The  family  of  mankind. 

Not  to  be  outdone,  a  number  of  young  bloods  of  the 
city — "gentlemen  of  various  professions"  —  met  and 
dined  on  board  a  ship  in  the  harbor  on  Saturday  afternoon. 
The  facts  that  the  dinner  was  held  on  a  ship  in  the  harbor 
(no  doubt  beyond  the  three-mile  limit),  that  the  name  of 
the  ship  was  carefully  withheld,  and  that  the  following  day 
was  Sunday  all  seem  to  have  a  meaning  of  their  own. 
Rare  enthusiasm  must  have  animated  these  gay  spirits 
when  they  drank  the  fifteenth  toast:  "May  the  circuit  of 
the  president  round  the  states  be  as  much  admired  as  that 
of  the  earth  round  the  sun."  The  "  Correspondent "  who 
inserted  the  notice  of  the  dinner  in  the  "Gazette"  was 

careful  to  add  the  disarming  postscript:  "About  8  o'clock 

194 


Charleston 

they  broke  up  after  spending  the  afternoon  in  the  greatest 
harmony  and  hilarity."  Follow  the  toasts: 

I.  The  president;  may  he  long  live  and  honour  and  benefit 

his  country. 
1.  May  the  States  be  ever  united. 

3.  The  vice  president,  may  his  virtues  be  continued. 

4.  Congress  of  the  United  States. 

5.  May  every  state  regard  the  interest  of  its  sister  states. 

6.  The  State  of  South  Carolina. 

7.  May  commerce  flourish. 

8.  May  the  State  of  South  Carolina  be  soon  the  carriers  of 
its  own  produce. 

9.  May  merchant  and  planter  understand  their  own  inter- 
est, and  each  agree  and  assist  the  other  in  mutual  good 
offices. 

10.  The  memory  of  General  Greene. 

11.  General  Marion. 

12.  The  grateful  memory  of  all  who  fell  in  defence  of  Ameri- 
can Liberty. 

13.  Our  worthy  ally  Lewis  the  16- 

14.  A  grateful  reception  to  the  president  on  his  arrival  in 
Georgia. 

15.  May  the  circuit  of  the  president  round  the  states  be  as 
much  admired  as  that  of  the  earth  round  the  sun. 

A  charming  tribute  to  Washington  is  found  in  the  fol- 
lowing note,  preserved  in  the  national  archives : 

Miss  Elliott  presents  her  compliments  to  The  President  of 
the  United  States,  and  as  a  small  tribute  of  her  grateful  re- 
spect, begs  that  he  will  Honor  her  by  the  acceptance  of  a 
Sword  knot. 
Charleston 

May  7,  1791. 

On  Sunday,  by  special  invitation,  the  President  —  for- 
mally accompanied  by  Intendant,  Wardens,  city  officers, 
Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor,  and,  of  course,  a  number 

195 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

of  thoroughly  "respectable  characters"  (for  he  wasn't 
allowed  even  to  go  to  church  by  himself!)  —  attended 
service  at  St.  Philip's  Church  in  the  morning;  and  St.  Mi- 
chael's Church  in  the  afternoon.1  After  morning  service 
he  dined  at  a  private  dinner,  with  Major-General  William 
Moultrie  —  a  delightful  host  and  skilled  raconteur. 

Thus  ends  the  story  of  Charleston's  famous  entertain- 
ment of  George  Washington  —  a  civic  entertainment 
probably  without  a  parallel,  for  duration,  variety,  elegance, 
and  universal  cordiality,  in  the  history  of  this  country.  A 
lady  of  Charleston  writing  to  a  friend  in  Hartford,  Connec- 
ticut, describes  in  perfervid  terms  the  events  of  this  mem- 
orable week  during  which  "little  or  nothing  like  business 
has  been  done."  She  particularly  describes  the  elegant 
costumes  of  the  romantic  ladies  of  Charleston  at  the  Cor- 
poration Ball  —  "  the  sashes  and  ribbons  on  their  heads 
with  his  picture  painted  on  them,  and  different  inscrip- 
tions in  gold  and  silver  letters,  pertinent  and  sentimental." 
Of  this  same  ball  she  naively  says :  "  When  he  entered  the 
room  joy  sparkled  in  every  countenance;  but  more  so 
when,  after  being  seated  a  few  minutes,  he  rose,  went  all 
round  the  room  and  bowed  to  every  lady  —  this  gave  par- 
ticular satisfaction,  as  every  one  was  anxious  to  have  a 

1  On  the  minute  book  of  the  Vestry  of  St.  Philip's  appears  the  following: 

At  a  Meeting  of  the  Vestry  &  Church  Wardens  of  S*  Philip's  Church  3d 
May  1791 
Resolved  — 

That  the  President  of  the  United  States,  be  invited  to  service  in  Sf 
Philips  Church,  &  the  Church  Wardens  do  inform  him,  That  a  Pew  is 
ready  for  his  Accomodation  on  Sunday  next,  or  any  other  day  that  he  may 
think  proper. 

I96 


ST.   PHILIP  S  CHURCH,   CHARLESTON 
Erected  1723  —  Burnt  1835 


PEW  OCCUPIED   BY  WASHINGTON   IN   ST.   MICHAEL  S   CHURCH,   CHARLESTON 


ST.  MICHAEL  S  CHURCH,   CHARLESTON 


Charleston 

good  view  of  him"!  The  letter  concludes  with  the  pious 
benediction  for  the  President  upon  his  journey:  "May 
every  protecting  angel  be  his  guardian ! "  1 

Washington's  observations  in  his  diary  (May  7th) 
merit  quotation: 

Charleston  stands  on  a  Pininsula  between  the  Ashley  & 
Cooper  Rivers  and  contains  about  1600  dwelling  houses  and 
nearly  16,000  Souls  of  which  about  8000  are  White  —  It  lies 
low  with  unpaved  streets  (except  the  footways)  of  sand.  — 
There  are  a  number  of  very  good  houses  of  Brick  &  wood  but 
most  of  the  latter  —  The  inhabitants  are  wealthy,  —  Gay  — 
&  hospitable;  appear  happy  and  satisfied  with  the  Genl.  Gov- 
ernment. A  cut  is  much  talked  off  between  the  Ashley  &  San- 
tee  Rivers  but  it  would  seem  I  think,  as  if  the  accomplishment 
of  the  measure  was  not  very  near  —  It  would  be  a  great  thing 
for  Charleston  if  it  could  be  effected.  —  The  principal  exports 
from  this  place  is  Rice,  Indigo,  and  Tobacco;  of  the  last  from 
5  to  8000  Hhds.  have  been  exported,  and  of  the  first  from  80 
to  120,000  Barrels. 

A  contemporary  commentary  on  the  entire  visit,  with 
its  ludicrous  transition  from  the  cheerful  to  the  lugubrious, 
may  well  serve  to  write  "Finis"  to  this  long  account: 

We  learn  from  the  most  respectable  authority,  that  the 
president  of  the  united  states  was,  from  the  unrivalled  trib- 
ute of  praise  and  respect,  incessantly  preferred  to  him  in  South 
Carolina,  impressed  with  the  highest  sensibility;  this,  the 
lineaments  of  his  countenance  evinced  in  uttering  grateful  ac- 
knowledgments for  the  honors  conferred  on  him  by  the  fair 
sex,  and  homage  of  the  heart  by  all  ranks  of  the  community. 
—  This  surely  is  such  a  man,  whose  primary  maxim,  the  Ro- 
man poet,  in  classic  lore  reveres. 

Hie  murus  ahenus  esto; 
Nil  conscire  sibi.  .  .  . 

1  Connecticut  Courant,  June  6,  1791. 
197 


Washington' s  Southern  Tour 

Long  may  he  live  to  please  a  virtuous  people! 

And  at  the  awful  period  of  dissolution  —  on  his  mausoleum, 
by  some  kind  hand,  may  this  motto  be  engraven  —  George 
Washington  —  Hie  cinis  —  ubique  fama.1 

1  The  South-Carolina  Independent  Gazette;  and  Georgetown  Chronicle ,  May 
21,  1791.  The  quotation  is  from  Horace,  and  should  read: 
His  murus  aeneus  esto, 
Nil  conscire  sibi;  nulla  pallescere  culpa. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  FIFTH  STAGE 

Georgia:  Savannah 

CONSPICUOUS  evidence  of  the  development  of  the 
democratic  feeling  in  America,  and  the  aversion 
from  titles,  comes  to  light  in  connection  with  Washington's 
Southern  tour.  When  a  writer  in  the  "Gazette  of  the 
United  States"  made  a  strong  plea  for  titular  distinctions, 
he  was  answered  in  the  "  Philadelphia  General  Advertiser" 
in  vigorous  terms : 

What  more  dignified  title  could  be  bestowed  on  our  su- 
preme executive  Magistrate  than  George  Washington? 
Would  the  epithet  Honor,  or  even  Excellency,  annexed  to  his 
name  express  as  much  as  his  Name  itself?  Does  Excellency 
call  to  mind  the  services  he  has  rendered  to  his  country?  and 
is  not  George  Washington  synonymous  with  prudent  and 
brave  warrior,  profound  statesman,  defender  of  liberty,  good 
citizen,  great  man? 

And  in  the  same  paper,  of  another  date,  appears  this 
"crushing  retort": 

The  unlimited  respect  which  has  been  paid  to  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  in  his  southern  excursion,  is  a 
striking  proof  that  titles  are  not  necessary  to  procure  it.  But  it 
will  be  said  that  this  respect  is  paid  to  the  Man,  and  not  the 
station.  So  much  the  better.  Let  it  teach  rulers  hereafter  to 
be  Men,  if  they  wish  to  be  treated  in  like  manner.  Titles,  like 
crowns  and  bishops  in  the  female  dress,  or  like  large  cravats 
and  high  collars  in  the  dress  of  gentlemen,  were  introduced 
only  to  supply  the  absence  of  real  beauties,  or  to  cover  some 
existing  defects.  When  the  United  States,  or  any  single  State 

199 


Washington' 's  Southern  Tour 

shall  have  the  misfortune  to  be  governed  by  a  Tyger,  an  Ass, 
or  a  He  Goat,  then  let  titles  be  applied  to  supply  the  absence 
of  majesty,  serenity,  wisdom  or  excellency. 

On  his  departure  from  Charleston  at  six  o'clock  on 
May  9th,  the  President  had  a  handsome  escort  as  far  as 
Ashley  Ferry,  consisting  of  His  Excellency  the  Governor, 
the  Honorable  Mr.  Izard,  the  Honorable  Major  Butler,  a 
Corps  of  the  Cincinnati,  and  officers  of  the  militia,  all 
mounted  on  horseback  —  in  a  word,  as  Washington  says, 
"most  of  the  principal  Gentlemen  of  the  City."  At 
Boundary  Street  they  were  met  by  the  Intendant  and 
Wardens  of  the  City;  and  here  His  Honor  the  Intendant 
briefly  addressed  the  President  as  follows: 

Sir, 

The  Intendant  and  Wardens,  in  behalf  of  themselves  and 
their  constituents  beg  leave  to  offer  you  their  unfeigned 
thanks  for  the  visit  with  which  you  have  honored  this  city, 
and  they  are  hopeful  it  will  not  be  the  last.  They  sincerely 
wish  you  a  pleasant  tour  and  happy  return  to  your  man- 
sion; and  may  health,  that  most  grateful  of  all  temporal 
blessings,  attend  you. 

To  which  the  President  "was  pleased  to  reply": 

Sir, 

I  beg  you  will  accept  and  offer  my  best  thanks  to  the 
Corporation  and  the  citizens  of  Charleston  for  their  very 
polite  attentions  to  me.  Should  it  ever  be  in  my  power,  be 
assured  it  will  give  me  pleasure  to  visit  this  very  respectable 
city.1 

1  In  his  Reminiscences,  Fraser  says:  "Every  attention  that  hospitality, 
public  and  private,  could  devise,  was  shown  him  [Washington],  and  it  must 
have  been  very  gratifying  to  the  citizens  of  Charleston  to  receive  from  Gen- 
eral Washington  himself,  on  his  departure,  the  warm  acknowledgments 
which  those  attentions  had  won  from  his  heart." 

200 


Georgia:  Savannah 

The  President  then  took  his  leave  of  the  Corporation; 
and  as  the  cavalcade,  joined  by  the  Intendant,  moved  on, 
the  field  pieces  of  the  Charleston  Battalion  of  Artillery 
boomed  forth  a  federal  discharge  and  the  muskets  of  the 
Fusilier  Company,  drawn  up  some  distance  from  the 
skirts  of  the  city,  fired  a  parting  volley.  A  triumphal  arch, 
adorned  with  flowers  and  laurel,  greeted  them  at  Ashley 
Bridge  —  and  the  enthusiasm  of  the  assembled  multitude 
no  doubt  burst  forth  in  acclamations  as  the  Nation's  head 
passed  beneath  this  graceful  arch.  At  Mr.  Fraser's,  on  the 
south  side  of  the  bridge,  the  party  had  breakfast  —  after 
which  the  President  bade  his  escort  an  affectionate  fare- 
well—  with  the  exception  of  the  Governor,  Mr.  Izard, 
Major  Butler,  and  Generals  Moultrie  and  Pinckney,  who 
accompanied  him  some  distance  farther  upon  his  journey. 

After  a  journey  of  twenty-eight  miles  the  party  reached 
"Sandy  Hill,"  in  the  old  Parish  of  St.  Paul's,  the  home  of 
Colonel  William  Washington.  It  was  about  three  miles 
from  the  highway  leading  directly  from  Charleston  to 
Savannah  between  Charleston  and  what  was  then  known 
as  Jacksonboro.  The  stately  mansion  was  formerly  the 
residence  of  Charles  Elliott,  Esq.,  and  the  large  inland  rice 
plantation  surrounding  it  had  originally  been  granted  to  a 
member  of  the  Elliott  family.  A  fine  avenue  led  up  to  the 
house,  which  was  located  in  the  midst  of  a  group  of 
magnificent  live-oaks;  and  in  front  of  the  house  was  a 
lawn  with  ornamental  pond.  Colonel  Washington,  who 
was  greatly  interested  in  horse-racing,  himself  had  race- 
horses; and  on  the  estate,  not  far  from  the  residence,  he 

201 


Washington' s  Southern  Tour 

laid  out  a  trial  race-course  for  the  practice  of  race-horses. 
The  gallant  William  Washington,  who  was  known  as  "the 
sword  of  the  army,"  served  with  great  distinction  in  cam- 
paigns in  South  Carolina.  As  occasion  permitted,  he  vis- 
ited the  Elliotts  at  "  Sandy  Hill,"  fascinated  by  the  charms 
of  Miss  Jane  Elliott.  It  is  related  that  on  a  hurried  visit 
there  while  war  was  at  its  height,  the  dashing  cavalryman 
mentioned  that  his  men  were  without  a  flag  of  any  kind. 
The  quick-witted  Miss  Elliott  readily  improvised  a  square 
flag  —  from  a  heavy  crimson  silk  curtain,  with  handsome 
silk  fringe.  Attached  to  a  hickory  pole  as  a  staff,  this 
famous  flag  was  placed  in  his  hands  by  the  patriotic  young 
girl,  with  the  hope  expressed  that  it  would  serve  his  men 
as  a  battle  standard.  This  completely  won  the  Colonel's 
heart;  and  they  were  married  while  the  Revolution  was 
still  at  its  height.  They  were  living  happily  at  "Sandy 
Hill"  in  1791 ;  and  the  President  broke  his  rule  not  to  ac- 
cept private  hospitality  because  he  and  William  Washing- 
ton were  cousins  —  John  Washington,  great-grandfather 
of  William,  being  own  brother  to  Lawrence,  grandfather 
of  George.1 
At  "  Sandy  Hill "  Washington  remained  the  night;  and 

1  For  a  reliable  genealogical  table,  showing  this  relationship,  consult 
"The  Genealogy  of  William  Washington,"  with  accompanying  table,  in 
Proceedings  at  the  Unveiling  of  the  Battle  Monument  in  Spartanburg,  S.  C, 
in  Commemoration  of  the  Centennial  of  the  Battle  of  the  Cowpens.  1781-1881. 
Edited  by  William  A.  Courtney  (Charleston,  S.  C,  1896).  The  cover  de- 
sign is  a  picture  in  colors  of  the  flag  above  mentioned.  On  April  19,  1827, 
this  historic  flag,  which  was  borne  at  the  Cowpens,  Guilford  Court-House, 
Hobkirk  Hill,  Eutaw  Springs,  and  numerous  minor  engagements,  was  pre- 
sented by  the  widow  of  Colonel  William  Washington  to  the  Washington 
Light  Infantry  of  Charleston.  For  details  concerning  "Sandy  Hill"  I  am 
indebted  to  the  present  owner,  Judge  Henry  A.  M.  Smith. 

202 


Georgia:  Savannah 

the  following  morning  (Tuesday,  ioth)  bade  adieu  to  the 
friends  and  attendants  who  had  accompanied  him  thus  far 
—  except  General  Moultrie  who  went  as  far  as  Purysburg 
and  Major  Butler  who  went  all  the  way  to  Savannah. 
This  day  the  President  and  party  breakfasted  at  Judge 
Bee's,1  twelve  miles  from  Sandy  Hill,  and  after  a  further 
journey  of  some  eighteen  or  twenty  miles,  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  the  day,  and  the  night,  at  "Mr.  Obrian 
Smith's."  2 

The  President  was  perhaps  prepared,  after  two  quiet 
days,  for  a  resumption  of  the  bombardment  —  which  was 
renewed  at  Pocotaligo,3  a  point  some  twenty  miles  from 
Mr.  Smith's,  where  Washington  breakfasted.  A  large 
gathering  awaited  him  at  Pocotaligo;  and  he  sat  down  to  a 
handsome  dinner  prepared  by  the  "  Parishioners  of  Prince 
William."  Here  he  was  presented  with  the  following  ad- 
dress by  the  "Inhabitants  of  Prince  William's  Parish": 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States 

Permit  us  Great  Sir  to  Welcome  you  most  cordially  into 
this  Parish  in  your  progress  thro'  the  State. 

We  are  sensibly  affected  with  the  Honour  you  do  us,  by  this 
kind  condescending  visit  —  And  cannot  but  embrace  the  Op- 
portunity of  declaring  that  our  Hearts  are  penetrated  with 

1  Thomas  Bee,  born  in  South  Carolina  in  1729;  a  distinguished  lawyer, 
sometime  member  of  the  Assembly  and  of  the  Privy  Council.  Served  on 
Council  of  Safety  during  the  Revolution.  Was  Lieutenant-Governor  of 
South  Carolina,  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress  (1780-82),  and 
later,  judge  of  the  United  States  Court  for  the  District  of  South  Carolina. 
Author  of  Reports  of  the  District  Courts  of  South  Carolina  (18 10). 

2  O'Brien  Smith,  a  nephew  of  James  Parsons,  probably  came  from  Ire- 
land to  South  Carolina.  He  lived  in  St.  Paul's  Parish,  and  was  married  to  a 
Miss  Webb  in  1785.   He  died  about  181 1. 

3  A  town  on  the  Combahee  River,  York  District,  South  Carolina.  In  his 
diary  Washington  comically  spells  it  "Pokitellico." 

203 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

the  Warmest  Sense  of  our  Obligations  to  you  Who  under  God 
have  been  the  deliverer  of  the  Country  and  its  eminent 
Benefactor  in  War  &  in  Peace  —  May  you  continue  to  En- 
joy the  Exquisite  satisfaction  that  Arises  from  the  Venera- 
tion and  gratitude  of  a  great  People  that  has  been  signally 
benefitted  by  you  as  an  Anticipation  of  your  heavenly  Re- 
ward 

By  the  Unanimous  Voice  of  the  People  of  Prince  William's 
Parish  The  nth  day  of  May  1791  — 

John  McPherson 
John  Heyward 
Jno.  A.  Cuthbert 
Felix  Warley 
James  Maine 
William  Heyward 
James  E.  McPherson 

(Endorsed:) 

Address  of  the 

Inhabitants  of  Prince  William's 

Parish  South  Carolina 

May  1791 

To  which  the  President  made  the  following  reply: 

Gentlemen, 

My  best  thanks  for  your  cordial  welcome  and  affectionate 
address  are  not  more  justly  due  than  they  are  sincerely  of- 
fered. I  am  much  indebted  to  your  good  wishes  which  I  recip- 
rocate with  grateful  regard. 

After  dinner  the  following  '  toasts '  were  given : 

1.  United  States  of  America. 

2.  Federal  Constitution. 

3.  The  Parish  of  Prince  William  {given  by  the  President). 

4.  Vice-President. 

5.  The  4th  July,  1776. 

6.  Lewis  the  Sixteenth. 

7.  National  Assembly  of  France. 

8.  Memory  of  General  Greene. 

9.  Memory  of  Colonel  John  Laurens. 

204 


THOMAS  HEYWARD,   JR. 


Of  THE 


Georgia:  Savannah 

10.  Marquis  de  la  Fayette. 

11.  Governor  of  South-Carolina. 

12.  The  memory  of  our  friends  who  fell  in  the  glorious  cause 
of  freedom. 

13.  The  patriotic  fair  of  America. 

14.  Agriculture  and  commerce  of  America. 

After  the  President  retired,  the  following  was  drunk: 

15.  The  President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

That  night  the  President  and  party  dined  and  lodged 
at  "Judge  Hayward's."  1  Here,  as  also  at  Mr.  Smith's, 
says  Washington,  "we  were  kindly  and  hospitably  enter- 
tained." By  way  of  explanation  he  makes  the  following 
statement  in  his  diary  for  this  day: 

My  going  to  Col0  Washington's  is  to  be  ascribed  to  motives 
of  friendship  &  relationship;  but  to  Mr.  Smith's  &  Judge 
Hayward's  to  those  of  necessity;  their  being  no  public  houses 
on  the  Road  and  my  distance  to  get  to  these  private  ones  in- 
creased at  least  10  or  12  miles  between  Charleston  and  Sa- 
vanna. 

On  Thursday,  as  Washington  had  to  ride  twenty-two 
miles  before  breakfast  at  Purysburg,2  he  set  out  from 
Judge  Heyward's  at  five  o'clock.    At  Purysburg  he  was 

1  Thomas  Heyward,  born  in  St.  Luke's  Parish,  South  Carolina,  1746;  died 
March  6,  1809.  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Educated  by 
tutors;  read  law  in  Charleston  and  at  the  Temple,  London,  England.  Re- 
turned home  offended  by  British  attitude  toward  colonists  and  gained  em- 
inence as  advocate  of  freedom.  He  was  a  member  of  the  first  Assembly 
which  was  free  from  royal  influence  and  of  the  first  Committee  of  Safety  in 
his  province.  Member  of  Congress  1775-78.  He  took  part  in  the  defence  of 
Charleston  and  was  a  prisoner  for  a  year.  His  lands  were  ravaged  and  his 
slaves  taken  away.  He  served  on  the  bench  till  1799;  in  1790  helped  to 
frame  the  South  Carolina  Constitution. 

2  This  town,  on  the  Savannah  River,  was  named  in  honor  of  John  Pury, 
founder  of  a  Swiss  settlement  in  South  Carolina.  Here,  for  a  time  early  in 
1779,  General  Lincoln  had  his  headquarters. 

205 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

greeted  by  five  eminent  patriots  of  the  Revolution  —  the 
Honorable  Noble  Wymberley  Jones,  Colonel  Joseph  Hab- 
ersham, the  Honorable  John  Houstoun,  General  Lachlan 
Mcintosh,  and  the  Honorable  Joseph  Clay,  a  committee 
from  the  City  of  Savannah.  Between  ten  and  eleven 
o'clock  the  President,  with  the  committee,  Major  Jackson, 
Major  Butler,  General  Wayne,  and  Mr.  Baillie,  went  on 
board  a  handsome  boat  elegantly  fitted  out,  and  was 
rowed  down  the  river  by  nine  American  masters  of  vessels, 
namely,  Captains  Putnam,  Couster,  Rice,  Fisher,  Hunt- 
ingdon, Kershaw,  Swain,  Mclntire,  and  Morrison,  who 
were  dressed  in  light  blue  silk  jackets,  black  satin  breeches, 
white  silk  stockings,  and  round  hats  with  black  ribbons 
bearing  in  letters  of  gold  the  device  "Long  Live  the  Pres- 
ident." At  a  point  two  miles  below  Purysburg,  where  the 
horses  and  carriages  were  landed  for  a  twelve-mile  over- 
land journey  to  Savannah,  Washington,  as  he  quaintly 
puts  it,  "  called  upon  Mrs.  Green  the  widow  of  the  deceased 
Genl.  Green,  (at  a  place  called  Mulberry  Grove)  and  asked 
her  how  she  did."  Washington  and  Nathanael  Greene  had 
been  very  close  friends ;  and  Mrs.  Greene  had  shared  with 
both  the  privations  and  sufferings  of  Valley  Forge.  In  addi- 
tion to  beauty,  Mrs.  Greene  possessed  personal  charm,  in- 
tuitive perception,  and  a  very  acquisitive  intellect.  "This 
power  of  rendering  available  her  intellectual  stores,  com- 
bined with  a  retentive  memory,  a  lively  imagination,  and 
great  fluency  of  speech,"  says  Mrs.  Ellet,  "rendered  her 
one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  entertaining  of  women."  1 

1  Mrs.  E.  F.  Ellet:  Women  of  the  Revolution. 
206 


MRS.   NATHANAEL  GREENE 


(HE  LIBRARY 

OF  [HE 

BSJVERSITY  Of  u  !  !fcUiS 


Georgia:  Savannah 

Washington  doubtless  welcomed  the  opportunity  to  tell 
her  of  the  many  tributes  to  General  Greene  he  had  heard 
upon  this  journey,  demonstrating  the  secure  place  he  held 
in  the  people's  affection.  And  she  in  turn  was  glad  to  thank 
in  person,  and  most  warmly,  the  generous  Washington 
who  had  offered  to  adopt  her  son  and  his  namesake,  give 
him  as  good  an  education  as  North  America  could  afford, 
and  have  him  brought  up  in  any  of  the  genteel  professions, 
at  his  "own  cost  and  charge."  Since  the  death  of  her  hus- 
band from  sunstroke  in  1786,  Mrs.  Greene  had  lived  here 
at  "Mulberry  Grove,"  an  estate  which  had  been  presented 
by  the  State  of  Georgia  to  General  Greene  in  testimony  of 
appreciation  for  his  services  in  the  Southern  campaigns  of 
the  Revolution.1 

No  doubt  it  was  with  reluctance  that  Washington 
parted  from  his  delightful  hostess  and  set  sail  once  more. 
"The  wind  and  tide  being  both  agst.  us,"  he  records,  "it 
was  6  o'clock  before  we  reached  the  City  where  we  received 
every  demonstration  that  could  be  given  of  joy  and  re- 
spect. We  were  Seven  hours  making  the  passage  which  is 
often  performed  in  4,  tho'  the  computed  distance  is  25 
miles."  The  reception  Washington  received  from  the  ad- 
miring multitude  is  admirably  described  in  a  contempo- 
rary print: 

1  Here,  little  more  than  a  year  later,  under  Mrs.  Greene's  hospitable  roof, 
a  young  inventor,  Eli  Whitney,  constructed  the  first  cotton-gin,  in  its  eco- 
nomic influence  one  of  the  most  epochal  inventions  of  modern  times.  For 
an  interesting  account  of  this  episode  and  of  the  life  of  the  Greene  family 
in  Georgia,  consult  "Recollections  of  Washington  and  his  Friends.  As  Pre- 
served in  the  Family  of  General  Nathanael  Greene."  By  Martha  Little- 
field  Phillips:  Century  Magazine,  vol.  55,  January,  1898. 

207 


Washington* s  Southern  Tour 

Within  ten  miles  of  the  city  they  were  met  by  a  number  of 
gentlemen  in  several  boats,  and  as  the  President  passed  by 
them  a  band  of  music  played  the  celebrated  song,  "He  comes, 
the  Hero  comes,"  accompanied  with  several  voices.  On  his 
approach  to  the  city  the  concourse  on  the  Bluff,  and  the 
crowds  which  had  pressed  into  the  vessels,  evinced  the  gen- 
eral joy  which  had  been  inspired  by  the  visit  of  this  most 
beloved  of  men,  and  the  ardent  desire  of  all  ranks  and  condi- 
tions of  people  to  be  gratified  by  his  presence.  Upon  arriving 
at  the  upper  part  of  the  harbor  he  was  saluted  from  the 
wharves  and  by  the  shipping,  and  particularly  by  the  ship 
Thomas  Wilson,  Capt.  White,  which  was  beautifully  deco- 
rated with  the  colours  of  various  nations.  At  the  foot  of  the 
stairs  where  the  President  landed  he  was  received  by  Col. 
Gunn  and  Gen.  Jackson,  who  introduced  him  to  the  Mayor 
and  Aldermen  of  the  city.  The  Artillery  Company  saluted 
him  with  26  discharges  from  their  fieldpieces,  and  he  was  then 
conducted  to  a  house  prepared  by  the  Corporation  for  his  ac- 
commodation, in  St.  James's  Square,  in  the  following  order 
of  procession:  Light  Infantry  Company;  Field  Officers  and 
other  Officers  of  the  Militia;  Marshall  of  the  City;  Treasurer 
and  Clerk;  Recorder;  Aldermen;  Mayor;  President  and 
Suite;  Committee  of  Citizens;  Members  of  the  Cincinnati; 
Citizens  two  and  two;  Artillery  Company.1 

Upon  his  arrival  the  President  was  at  once  conducted 
to  "very  good  lodging  which  had  been  provided  for  the  oc- 
casion"—  the  inn  on  the  corner  of  Barnard  and  State 
Streets.2  The  President  and  his  suite  dined  with  the  Cor- 

1  Georgia  Gazette,  May  18,  1791.  Colonel  Gunn,  it  appears,  was  the 
Recorder  of  Savannah. 

2  Until  recent  years,  this  old  inn  was  a  landmark  of  the  city.  "Its  well- 
worn,  time-eaten  boards  were  finally  pulled  down  to  make  way  for  the  pres- 
ent imposing  structure  of  Odd  Fellows  Hall."  (Consult  Historic  and  Pic- 
turesque Savannah,  by  Adelaide  Wilson,  1889.)  "At  the  time  of  Washing- 
ton's visit,"  according  to  the  Historical  Record  of  the  City  of  Savannah,  by 
Lee  and  Agnew  (1869),  "  there  were  no  houses  beyond  South  Broad  Street, 
and  only  five  upon  that  street,  all  being  on  the  north  side.  The  city  limits 
on  the  east  was  Lincoln  street,  and  on  the  west  Jefferson  street,  although 

208 


Georgia:  Savannah 

poration  at  Brown's  Coffee  House  that  evening,  being  es- 
corted thither  by  the  Mayor,  Thomas  Gibbons,1  and  by 
General  Anthony  Wayne,  the  President  of  the  Society  of 
the  Cincinnati.  The  following  gentlemen  were  invited  to 
partake  of  the  entertainment  prepared:  the  Judges  of  the 
Superior  Courts  of  the  State  and  Inferior  Courts  of  the 
county,  clergy,  members  of  the  Legislature,  members  of 
the  Cincinnati,  field  officers  of  the  militia,  President  of  the 
Union  Society,  the  Recorder  and  Treasurer  of  the  City. 
The  following  toasts  were  drunk,  each  being  succeeded  by 
discharges  from  the  field  pieces  of  the  Artillery  Company: 

i.  The  United  States. 

1.  The  State  of  Georgia;  may  she  increase  in  population 
and  wealth.    (By  the  President.) 

3.  The  happy  Occasion. 

4.  The  Governor  of  the  State. 

5.  The  Vice-President. 

6.  Louis  the  XVI th. 

there  were  a  number  of  houses  west  of  the  latter  named  street.  Of  the  five 
houses  then  standing  on  South  Broad  street  four  remain,  viz:  'Eppinger's 
house,'  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Jefferson  street,  now  occupied  by  Mr.  S. 
Davis;  the  old  frame  house  between  Barnard  and  Jefferson;  the  frame  house 
at  the  northeast  corner  of  Whitaker;  and  the  old  brick  house  the  third 
door  east  of  Drayton  street,  now  occupied  by  John  B.  Robinson;  the  fifth 
house  stood  where  a  brick  house  has  just  been  completed,  between  Dray- 
ton and  Abercorn  street." 

1  Thomas  Gibbons  was  a  lawyer  of  Savannah,  Georgia,  who  as  early  as 
the  year  1800  is  said  to  have  earned  as  much  as  $  15,000  per  annum  from 
the  practice  of  law.  He  also  engaged  extensively  in  land  speculations,  and 
on  this  question,  as  well  as  many  others  pertinent  to  the  times,  was  fre- 
quently found  on  opposing  sides  to  Governor  James  Jackson.  Both  men 
being  possessed  of  violent  tempers,  they  finally  met  on  the  field  of  honor, 
but,  though  three  shots  were  exchanged  between  them,  neither  suffered  an 
injury.  An  attestation  of  the  esteem  in  which  Thomas  Gibbons  was  held 
was  his  election  to  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1795  an^  his  represen- 
tation of  Chatham  County  in  the  General  Assembly  for  the  years  1788, 
1789,  and  1792. 

209 


Washington* 's  Southern  Tour 

J.  The  National  Assembly. 

8.  The  Congress  of  the  United  States. 

9.  Agriculture  and  Commerce. 

10.  Arts  and  Sciences. 

11.  The  fair  Daughters  of  America. 

12.  The  Sons  of  Freedom  in  every  part  of  the  globe. 

13.  The  Marquis  de  la  Fayette. 

1 4.  The  Memory  of  Gen.  Greene. 

15.  The  Memory  of  those  brave  Men  who  fell  in  defence  of 
American  Liberty. 

The  President  then  retired,  and  a  sixteenth  toast  was 
given:  "The  President  of  the  United  States."  Prior  to  the 
coming  of  the  President,  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  had 
requested  the  citizens  to  illuminate  their  houses,  and  the 
order  was  enthusiastically  carried  out.  The  result  was  a 
beautiful  illumination  of  the  city  —  Alderman  Scheuber's 
house  "showing  no  less  than  three  hundred  lights  con- 
tained in  the  form  of  a  W  in  front."  It  was  said  that  the 
ship  Thomas  Wilson,  with  a  "great  number  of  lanterns 
with  lights,"  was  conspicuous  for  its  beauty. 

At  some  time  during  the  13th,  presumably  in  the 
forenoon,  the  committee  on  behalf  of  the  "Citizens 
of  Savannah,  and  the  Inhabitants  of  its  Vicinity," 
consisting  of  the  Honorable  Noble  Wymberley  Jones,1 

1  Noble  Wymberley  Jones  was  born  near  London,  England,  in  1723.  He 
early  removed  to  Georgia,  and  took  his  degree  in  medicine.  After  serving 
for  a  time,  as  surgeon,  with  a  company  of  Rangers,  he  entered  upon  the 
practice  of  the  medical  profession.  In  1768  he  was  elected  Speaker  of  the 
Lower  House  of  Assembly;  but  in  1770  and  1772,  when  he  was  again  elected 
Speaker,  his  pronounced  leanings  toward  independence  caused  his  rejec- 
tion by  the  Governor's  dissolving  the  Assembly.  Although  elected  by  the 
Provincial  Congress,  January,  1775,  a  delegate  to  the  Continental  Con- 
gress, he  declined  to  serve  because  the  Provincial  Congress  represented  only 
four  of  the  twelve  parishes.  He  assisted  on  May  li,  1775,  in  breaking  open 
the  magazine  and  removing  the  powder  stored  there.  He  was  a  member  of 

2IO 


NOBLE  W.  JONES 


ANTHONY  WAYNE 


JOSEPH   HABERSHAM 


LACHLAN  MCINTOSH 


ft    .   rJYi 


uiniimi  nTHii»»  iihiimmi  u     *«=*=  * 

m  mm  mi  sjiif  iff  §J  MR 


l»ll  I 


gi  n  < 


._-.-•  - 1  *' 


WASHINGTON  S   HEADQUARTERS   IN   SAVANNAH 


Georgia:  Savannah 

Colonel  Joseph  Habersham,1  the  Honorable  John  Hous- 
toun,2  General  Lachlan  Mcintosh,3  the  Honorable  Joseph 

the  Provincial  Congress  of  Georgia,  July  4,  1775,  by  which  he  was  elected 
a  delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress.  He  was  captured  in  Charleston, 
1780,  and  sent  as  a  prisoner  to  St.  Augustine.  After  release  in  1781,  he  set- 
tled in  Philadelphia;  and  while  residing  there,  was  reelected  by  the  General 
Assembly  of  Georgia  to  the  Continental  Congress.  He  returned  to  Savan- 
nah in  1782.  He  presided  over  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  Georgia, 
May,  1795.  He  was  President  of  the  Georgia  Medical  Society,  1804,  and 
died  in  Savannah,  January  9,  1805. 

1  Joseph  Habersham  was  born  in  Savannah,  Georgia,  July  28,  1751.  He 
was  graduated  from  Princeton  during  the  presidency  of  Dr.  Witherspoon. 
In  July,  1775,  he  was  instrumental  in  capturing  a  British  vessel  loaded  with 
gunpowder  and  other  military  stores.  He  rendered  valuable  service,  politi- 
cal and  military,  during  the  Revolution,  rising  to  the  rank  of  colonel  in  the 
Continental  Army.  He  was  twice  Speaker  of  the  Georgia  General  Assem- 
bly; delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress  (1785-86),  and  to  the  convention 
which  ratified  the  Federal  Constitution  (1788);  Mayor  of  Savannah  (1792). 
Appointed  in  1795,  he  served  under  Washington  and  Adams  as  Postmaster- 
General  of  the  United  States.  He  was  President  of  the  Branch  Bank  of  the 
United  States  at  Savannah,  from  1802  until  his  death,  November  17,  1815. 

2  John  Houstoun,  son  of  Sir  Patrick  Houstoun,  Bart.,  was  born  in  Geor- 
gia, in  the  parish  of  St.  George,  August  31,  1744.  In  July,  1774,  along  with 
N.  W.  Jones,  Archibald  Bulloch,  and  others,  he  called  the  famous  meeting 
at  Tondee's  Tavern;  and  was  of  the  committee  then  appointed  which  in 
August  brought  in  a  very  independent  series  of  resolutions.  In  1775,  he  was 
chosen  by  the  Provincial  Congress  to  represent  Georgia  in  the  Continental 
Congress;  and  was  again  chosen  twice  in  1776.  He  was  elected  Governor  of 
Georgia,  January  10,  1778;  and  again  in  1784;  Chief  Justice  of  Georgia  in 
1786;  Mayor  of  Savannah,  1790.  He  died  at  White  Bluff,  near  Savannah, 
July  20,  1796. 

3  Lachlan  Mcintosh  was  born  near  Raits,  in  Badenoch,  Scotland,  March 
17,  1724.  He  emigrated  to  Georgia  with  his  father  in  1735.  After  serving 
for  a  time  as  cadet  in  General  Oglethorpe's  regiment,  he  went  to  Charles- 
Town  and  worked  in  the  counting-room  of  the  Honorable  Henry  Laurens. 
He  returned  to  New  Inverness,  Georgia,  and  sat  as  delegate  in  the  Provin- 
cial Congress,  Savannah,  July,  1775.  On  January  7,  1776,  he  was  elected 
colonel  of  the  battalion  ordered  by  the  Continental  Congress  to  be  raised 
for  the  defence  of  Georgia.  He  was  later  promoted  by  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  Georgia  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general.  On  May  16,  1777,  he  killed 
Button  Gwinnett  in  a  duel.  Resigning  his  command  in  Georgia,  he  reported 
at  Washington's  headquarters  for  active  service  in  the  Continental  Army. 
After  service  at  different  points,  he  was  appointed  by  the  Continental  Con- 
gress at  Washington's  request  to  the  command  of  the  Continental  forces  in 
Georgia.  He  was  second  in  command  at  the  siege  of  Savannah.  He  retired 

211 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

Clay,1  waited  on  the  President  and  presented  to  him 
through  its  chairman  the  following  address: 

Sir, 

When,  having  accomplished  the  great  objects  of  a  war, 
marked  in  its  progress  with  events  that  astonished  while  they 
instructed  the  world,  you  had  again  returned  to  the  domestic 
enjoyments  of  life,  to  which  you  were  known  to  be  so  strongly 
attached,  there  was  little  probability,  in  the  common  order 
of  things,  that  the  People  of  Georgia,  however  ardently  they 
might  desire,  should  ever  be  indulged,  the  happiness  of  a 
personal  interview  with  you  —  but  summoned  again,  as  you 
were,  from  your  retirement,  by  the  united  voice  and  the  obvi- 
ous welfare  of  your  country,  you  did  not  hesitate  to  furnish 
one  more  proof  that,  in  comparison  to  the  great  duties  of  so- 
cial life,  all  objects  of  a  private  nature  are  with  you  but  sec- 
ondary considerations;  And  to  this  your  ruling  passion  of  love 
for  your  country  it  is  that  we  owe  the  opportunity  now  of- 
fered of  congratulating  you  on  your  safe  arrival  in  the  City  of 
Savannah  —  an  office  we  the  Committee,  under  the  warm- 
est impressions  of  sensibility  and  attachment,  execute  in 
the  name  and  behalf  of  a  respectable  and  grateful  number  of 
citizens. 

History  furnishes  instances  of  some  eminently  qualified  for 
the  field,  and  of  others  endued  with  talents  adequate  to  the 
intricate  affairs  of  state;  but  you,  Sir,  have  enriched  the  an- 

with  General  Lincoln  to  Charles-Town,  and  was  captured  upon  the  surren- 
der of  that  city.  On  his  release,  he  retired  with  his  family  to  Virginia  where 
he  remained  until  the  termination  of  hostilities.  He  returned  to  Savannah 
in  1782;  was  elected  to  the  Continental  Congress  in  1784,  and  died  Febru- 
ary 20,  1786. 

1  Joseph  Clay  was  born  in  Beverley,  Yorkshire,  England,  October  16, 
1741.  He  emigrated  to  Georgia  in  1760;  and  a  few  years  later  engaged  in  a 
general  commission  business,  with  his  uncle,  Governor  Habersham,  in  Sa- 
vannah. He  was  successful  as  merchant  and  planter.  He  took  a  prominent 
part  in  1774  in  protesting  against  England's  unjust  policies.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Council  of  Safety,  and  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  June, 
1775;  appointed  Deputy  Paymaster-General  in  Georgia,  August  6,  1777; 
delegate  from  Georgia  to  the  Continental  Congress,  1778,  1779,  1780; 
Treasurer  of  Georgia,  1782.  He  died  in  Savannah,  November  15,  1804. 

212 


Georgia:  Savannah 

nals  of  America  with  a  proof,  to  be  sent  abroad  to  all  man- 
kind, that,  however  rare  the  association,  the  virtues  and  tal- 
ents of  soldier  and  republican  statesman  will  sometimes  dwell 
together,  and  both  characters  derive  additional  lustre  from  a 
subserviency  to  the  precepts  of  Religion. 

Roused  by  oppression  at  home,  and  inspired  by  example 
from  America,  the  people  of  enlightened  nations  in  Europe 
are  now  beginning  to  assert  their  rights:  And  it  is  observable 
that  those  brave  men,  the  subjects  of  foreign  powers,  who 
were  votaries  to  our  cause,  and  companions  in  your  victories, 
are  always  found  foremost  in  the  struggle  for  just  and  equal 
government. 

You  have  now,  Sir,  an  opportunity  of  viewing  a  state  which, 
from  its  exposed  situation,  has  been  peculiarly  affected  by  the 
calamities  of  war,  but  which,  under  the  influence  of  a  happy 
Government,  will  rise  fast  to  that  rank  of  prosperity  and  im- 
portance to  which  her  natural  advantages  so  justly  entitle  her, 
and  which  will  enable  her  to  reflect  back  upon  the  Union  all 
the  benefits  derived  from  it. 

We  shall  always  take  a  deep  concern,  in  common  with  the 
other  citizens  of  the  United  States,  in  whatever  regards  your 
personal  welfare  and  happiness.  We  make  it  our  prayer  to 
Almighty  God  that  you  may  be  long  continued  to  your  coun- 
try her  Ornament  and  Father,  and  that  it  may  be  more  and 
more  exemplified  in  you,  Sir,  that  to  know  how  to  conquer, 
and  to  improve  the  advantages  of  conquest  into  blessings  to  a 
community,  are  faculties  sometimes  bestowed  on  the  same 
mortal. 

In  the  name  and  on  behalf  of  a  number  of  Citizens  of  Sa- 
vannah and  its  Vicinity,  convened  for  the  Reception  of 
the  President, 

N.  W.  Jones 

Lach.  M'Intosh 

Joseph  Clay  The  Committee 

John  Houstoun 

Joseph  Habersham 

To  this  address,  which  contained  a  notable  tribute  to 

Washington  as  the  soldier-statesman,  he  replied  as  follows: 

213 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

Gentlemen, 

I  am  extremely  happy  in  the  occasion  now  afforded  me  to 
express  my  sense  of  your  goodness,  and  to  declare  the  sincere 
and  affectionate  gratitude  which  it  inspires. 

The  retrospect  of  past  scenes,  as  it  exhibits  the  virtuous 
character  of  our  country,  enhances  the  happiness  of  the  pres- 
ent hour,  and  gives  the  most  pleasing  anticipation  of  progres- 
sive prosperity.  The  individual  satisfaction  to  be  derived 
from  this  grateful  reflection  must  be  enjoyed  by  the  deserving 
citizens  of  Georgia  —  a  state  no  less  distinguished  by  its 
services  than  by  its  sufferings  in  the  cause  of  freedom. 

That  the  city  of  Savannah  may  largely  partake  of  every 
public  benefit  which  our  free  and  equal  Government  can  dis- 
pense, and  that  the  happiness  of  its  vicinity  may  reply  to  the 
best  wishes  of  its  inhabitants,  is  my  sincere  prayer. 

G.  Washington  1 

Probably  on  this  same  day  was  presented  to  the  Presi- 
dent an  address  of  the  Church  and  Society  at  Midway 
(Medway),  Liberty  County,  Georgia.  In  1752,  some  set- 
tlers from  Dorchester  and  Beach  Hill,  in  South  Carolina, 
removed  to  Midway  and  Newport  in  Georgia.  On  August 
28, 1754,  the  society  formed  at  Midway  and  Newport  drew 
up  articles  and  rules  of  incorporation.  The  members  of 
this  remarkable  society  were  mostly  of  a  dissenting  or  con- 
gregational persuasion.  In  their  articles  and  rules  of  in- 
corporation, it  is  recorded  that :  they  agreed,  each  person, 
"to  contribute  a  reasonable  part,  according  to  our  ability 
and  circumstances,  for  the  support  of  a  standing  Ministry 
of  the  Gospel  and  its  ordinances  among  us";  and,  more- 
over, at  their  annual  meeting  and  other  occasional  meet- 

1  The  originals  of  both  address  and  reply  are  preserved  in  the  De  Renne 
Library  of  Savannah.  The  address  to  Washington  is  described  as  "an 
eloquent  address"  in  the  "autograph  of  John  Rutledge." 

214 


Georgia:  Savannah 

ings  "every  common  matter  of  a  Secular  Nature  shall  be 
determined  by  a  majority  of  Voices  or  Votes  of  such  con- 
vened persons  of  the  Society,  who  according  to  their  cir- 
cumstances and  capacities,  both  have  been,  and  continue 
to  be,  supporters  of,  and  attenders  on  a  Gospel  Ministry 
among  us,  and  who  are  agreeable  to  these  our  articles  of 
agreement,  members  of  our  Society."  Further,  state  the 
records,  "We  agree  to  choose  annually,  three  or  more  Se- 
lect Men,  more  immediately  to  manage  our  Public  Busi- 
ness, according  to  the  instructions,  powers,  and  restric- 
tions that  shall  be  given  them  by  the  Society."  x  The 
address  to  the  President  and  his  reply  are  given  below: 

Sir:  We  feel  ourselves  happy  in  an  opportunity  of  express- 
ing our  attachment  to  your  person,  and  our  peculiar  pleasure 
in  your  selection  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  your  country  to 
the  Presidency  of  the  United  States. 

Though  situated  in  the  extreme  part  of  the  Union,  we  have 
gratefully  to  acknowledge  that  we  already  experience  the  pro- 
pitious influence  of  your  wise  and  parental  administration. 
To  the  troops  stationed  on  our  frontiers  by  your  order,  and 
to  the  treaty  lately  concluded  with  the  Creek  nation  under 
your  auspices,  we  are  indebted,  under  Providence,  for  our 
present  tranquility.  The  hatchet  is  now  buried,  and  we  smoke 
with  our  Indian  neighbours  the  calumet  of  peace.  This,  while 
it  affords  a  happy  presage  of  our  future  protection,  gives,  at 
the  same  time,  a  recent  proof  how  justly  you  have  earned,  in 
your  civil  as  well  as  military  capacity,  the  glorious  title  of 
Father  of  your  Country. 

With  the  laurel,  then,  be  pleased  to  accept  the  civic  wreath 
from  a  grateful  people. 

We  readily  conceive  how  arduous  must  be  the  duties,  how 
weighty  and  complicated  the  cares  of  office,  in  the  govern- 

1  Consult:  The  Published  Records  of  Midway  Church,  vol.  i,  edited  by  the 
Reverend  James  Stacy,  D.D. 

2IS 


JVashi?igto?iis  Southern  Tour 

ment  of  so  extensive  a  Republic  as  that  over  which  you 
are  called  to  preside.  Impressed  with  a  deep  sense  of  this, 
we  will  not  fail  to  implore  the  Divine  blessing  in  your  behalf. 
May  you  continue  to  be  directed  by  that  wisdom  from  above 
which  is  necessary  to  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  your  high 
and  important  station;  and  may  you  long  be  preserved  the 
favored  instrument  of  Heaven  to  secure  a  free  people  those 
invaluable  rights  which  you  so  eminently  contributed  to  res- 
cue from  the  hand  of  oppression.  Distant  as  our  situation  is 
from  the  Seat  of  Government,  permit  us  to  assure  you  that 
our  influence  however  inconsiderable  in  the  national  scale, 
shall  not  be  wanting  in  encouraging  submission  to  the  laws 
of  the  United  States,  and  thus  under  God  perpetuate  the 
blessings  of  an  efficient  Federal  Government,  now  so  happily 
established. 

(Signed)     James  Maxwell 

Daniel  Stewart   Committee  in  behalf 
A.  Holmes  of  the  Church  and 

Henry  Wood  Society. 

John  P.  Mann 
Midway,  Liberty  County,  May  12,  1791. 

Gentlemen:  I  learn  with  gratitude  proportioned  to  the 
occasion,  your  attachment  to  my  person,  and  the  pleasure 
you  express  on  my  election  to  the  Presidency  of  the  United 
States.  Your  sentiments  on  the  happy  influence  of  our  equal 
government  impress  me  with  the  most  sensible  satisfaction. 
They  vindicate  the  great  cause  of  humanity.  They  reflect 
honour  on  the  liberal  minds  that  entertain  them,  and  they 
promise  the  continuance  and  improvement  of  that  tranquility 
which  is  essential  to  the  welfare  of  nations  and  the  happiness 
of  men. 

You  overrate  my  best  exertions,  when  you  ascribe  to  them 
the  blessings  which  our  country  enjoys. 

From  the  gallantry  and  fortitude  of  her  citizens,  under  the 
auspices  of  Heaven,  America  has  derived  her  independence. 
To  their  industry  and  the  natural  advantages  of  the  country, 
she  is  indebted  for  her  prosperous  situation.  From  their  vir- 
tue she  may  expect  long  to  share  the  protection  of  a  free  and 

216 


Georgia:  Savaimah 

equal  government,  which  their  wisdom  has  established,  and 
which  experience  justifies,  as  admirably  adapted  to  our  social 
wants  and  individual  felicity. 

Continue,  my  fellow-citizens,  to  cultivate  the  peace  and 
harmony  which  now  subsist  between  you  and  your  Indian 
neighbours  —  the  happy  consequence  is  immediate  —  the  re- 
flection which  arises  on  justice  and  benevolence  will  be  last- 
ingly grateful.  A  knowledge  of  your  happiness  will  lighten 
the  cares  of  my  station,  and  be  among  the  most  pleasing  of 
their  rewards. 

George  Washington. 

Later  in  the  day  the  President  dined  with  the  members 
of  that  organization  which  he  had  taken  so  much  interest 
in  founding  and,  in  the  face  of  violent  criticism,  estab- 
lishing upon  a  sound  footing:  The  Society  of  the  Cincin- 
nati. On  this  most  enjoyed  occasion,  which  took  place 
at  Brown's  Coffee  House,  the  following  toasts  were  drunk 
"under  federal  salutes  from  the  Artillery  Company": 

i.  The  United  States  of  America. 

2.  The  Memory  of  our  worthy  deceased  Brother  Gen. 
Greene  (By  the  President). 

3.  The  Governor  and  State  of  Georgia. 

4.  May  the  virtues  which  inspired  the  Revolution  continue 
to  support  the  present  Establishment. 

5.  May  the  principles  of  a  free  government  be  universally 
disseminated. 

6.  Agriculture  and  Commerce. 

7.  Louis  XVI  and  the  French  Nation. 

8.  The  powers  in  alliance  with  the  United  States. 

9.  The  Vice  President. 

10.  The  Memory  of  Dr.  Franklin. 

11.  The  Non-Commissioned  Officers  and  Soldiers  of  the  late 
American  Army. 

12.  The  Memory  of  those  brave  Men  who  fell  in  defence  of 
American  Liberty. 

217 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

13.  The  Members  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  through- 
out the  globe.    (By  the  President.) 

14.  The  American  Fair. 

15.  The  Marquis  de  la  Fayette. 

At  this  point  the  President  retired,  whereupon  a  six- 
teenth toast  was  drunk  with  great  joviality  and  gusto: 
"The  President  of  the  United  States." 

In  the  evening  the  President,  as  he  states  in  his  diary, 
went  to  "a  dancing  Assembly  at  which  there  was  about 
100  well  dressed  handsome  ladies."  This  "dancing  As- 
sembly"—  an  antique  phrase  quaintly  expressive  of  light- 
ness and  motion  —  was  held  at  the  Filature,  a  building 
which  symbolized  a  singular  phase  in  the  Colony's  indus- 
trial history.  It  was  a  cherished  plan  of  the  Trustees  to 
make  of  Georgia  a  silk,  oil,  and  wine-growing  colony.  They 
offered  large  bounties  (1750)  to  those  who  would  engage  in 
the  growth  of  silk;  and  a  "filature  for  that  purpose  was 
built  the  next  year  to  serve  as  a  normal  school  to  the 
town."  xThis  first  filature,  thirty-six  feet  long  by  twenty 
wide,  was  built  of  rough  boards;  and  the  green  cocoons 
were  spread  in  a  loft  above  the  one  floor.  The  General 
Assembly,  in  order  to  promote  the  silk  culture,  actually 
passed  an  act  to  the  effect  that,  after  June,  1751,  "no  in- 
habitant could  be  elected  a  deputy  who  had  not  one  hun- 
dred mulberry  trees  planted  and  properly  fenced,  upon 
every  tract  of  fifty  acres  which  he  possessed."  Despite 
this  sustained  and  persistent  effort  to  interweave  the  silk 

1  Cf.  Adelaide  Wilson:  Historic  and  Picturesque  Savannah  (1889).  "This 
building  stood  on  the  east  side  of  Reynolds  Square  where  now  (1889)  stands 
the  block  of  houses  known  as  Cassell's  Row." 

218 


Georgia:  Savannah 

culture  with  the  fabric  of  government,  the  ultimate  re- 
sult was  failure.  Although  this  filature,  together  with  large 
stores  of  silk  and  cocoons,  was  burnt  in  1758,  it  was  rebuilt, 
and  for  several  years  used  for  the  manufacture  of  silk. 
The  year  1770  saw  the  death-throes  of  the  silk  culture  — 
after  which  date  the  Filature  was  used  as  a  public  hall  for 
municipal  and  social  entertainments.  It  was  destroyed  by 
fire  in  1839.1 

In  the  Long  Room  of  the  Filature  took  place  the  public 
ball  in  honor  of  the  President,  thus  quaintly  described  in  a 
contemporary  print : 

In  the  evening  a  Ball,  in  honor  of  the  President,  was  given 
at  the  Long  Room  in  the  Filature.  At  half  past  8  o'clock  the 
President  honored  the  company  with  his  presence,  and  was 
personally  introduced  by  one  of  the  Managers  to  96  ladies, 
who  were  elegantly  dressed,  some  of  whom  displayed  infinite 
taste  in  the  emblems  and  devices  on  their  sashes  and  head 
dresses,  out  of  respect  to  the  happy  occasion. 

The  room,  which  had  lately  been  handsomely  fitted  up,  and 
was  well  lighted,  afforded  the  President  an  excellent  oppor- 
tunity of  viewing  the  Fair  Sex  of  our  city  and  vicinity,  and 
the  ladies  the  gratification  of  paying  their  respects  to  our 
Federal  Chief. 

After  a  few  minuets  were  moved,  and  one  country  dance 
led  down,  the  President  and  his  Suit  retired  about  1 1  o'clock. 
At  12  o'clock  the  supper  room  was  opened,  and  the  ladies  par- 
took of  a  repast,  after  which  dances  continued  till  3  o'clock. 

1  Consult  Historical  Records  of  the  City  of  Savannah,  by  F.  D.  Lee  and  J. 
L.  Agnew  (Savannah,  1869).  Another  interesting  act  of  the  Assembly,  de- 
signed to  stimulate  silk  culture,  stipulated  that,  after  June  24,  1753,  no  one 
could  be  a  delegate  who  had  not  "strictly  conformed  to  the  prescribed  lim- 
itation of  the  number  of  negro  slaves  in  proportion  to  his  white  servants, 
who  had  not  in  his  family  at  least  one  female  instructed  in  the  act  of  reel- 
ing silk,  and  who  did  not  annually  produce  fifteen  pounds  of  silk  for  every 
fifty  acres  of  land  owned  by  him." 

219 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

The  company  retired  with  the  happy  satisfaction  of  having 
generally  contributed  towards  the  hilarity  and  gaiety  of  the 
evening. 

Retaining  his  keen  interest  in  the  art  of  war,  and  de- 
siring to  inform  himself  about  important  military  opera- 
tions during  the  Revolution,  Washington  spent  the  early 
morning  of  the  next  day  in  inspecting  the  remaining 
traces  of  the  lines  constructed  by  the  British  for  the  de- 
fence of  Savannah  in  1779.  As  it  fortunately  chanced, 
General  Mcintosh  had  been  second  in  command  under 
General  Lincoln  at  the  time  of  the  storming  of  the  works ; 
and  gave  the  President  a  detached  and  lively  account  of 
the  principal  events  of  interest  which  happened  during  the 
siege  and  attack  of  the  city.1  The  following  unsatisfac- 
tory and  accidentally  ungrammatical  entry  is  found  in  the 
President's  diary  for  this  day  (Saturday,  14th) : 

A  little  after  6  o'clock,  in  Company  with  Genl.  Mcintosh, 
Genl.  Wayne,2  the  Mayor  and  many  others  (principal  Gentle- 

1  In  a  biography  of  General  Mcintosh  we  find:  "Upon  the  occasion  of 
President  Washington's  visit  to  Savannah  in  May,  1791,  he  was  attended 
by  General  Mcintosh  when  he  inspected  the  lines  constructed  by  the  Brit- 
ish in  1779  for  the  defence  of  Savannah,  and  the  approaches  and  batteries 
then  made  by  the  Allied  Army.  Having  himself  participated  in  the  siege 
and  in  the  assault  of  the  9th  of  October,  General  Mcintosh  was  able  to  con- 
vey to  the  President  full  information  touching  the  whole  affair.  The  earth 
mounds  covering  the  slain,  the  lines  of  circumvallation,  the  sand  parapets 
and  gun  chambers,  had  not  then  yielded  to  the  influences  of  time  and  an 
encroaching  population.  The  scars  of  the  siege  were  still  upon  the  bosom  of 
the  plain,  and  some  of  the  houses  within  the  limits  of  the  city  bore  the 
marks  of  the  lethal  missiles  which  were  then  hurled.  About  him  stood  those 
who  had  passed  through  that  baptism  of  fire.  The  President  exhibited  a 
deep  interest  in  everything  he  then  saw  and  heard." 

2  Anthony  Wayne  was  born  in  East  Town,  Chester  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, January  1,  1745.  After  serving  as  land  surveyor  and  financial  agent 
in  Nova  Scotia,  he  returned  to  Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Colonial  House  of  Representatives,  1774-75.   He  was  commissioned  colo- 

220 


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Georgia:  Savannah 

men  of  the  City,)  I  visited  the  City,  and  the  attack  &  de- 
fence of  it  in  the  year  1779,  under  the  combined  forces  of 
France  and  the  United  States,  commanded  by  the  Count  de 
Estaing  &  Genl.  Lincoln.1  —  To  form  an  opinion  of  the  at- 
tack at  this  distance  of  time,  and  the  change  which  has  taken 
place  in  the  appearance  of  the  ground  by  the  cutting  away 
of  the  woods,  &c.  is  hardly  to  be  done  with  justice  to  the  sub- 
ject; especially  as  there  is  remaining  scarcely  any  of  the  de- 
fences. 

Dined  to  day  with  a  number  of  the  Citizens  (not  less  than 
200)  in  an  elegant  Bower  erected  for  the  occasion  on  the  Bank 
of  the  River  below  the  Town.  —  In  the  evening  there  was  a 
tolerable  good  display  of  fireworks. 

On  the  preceding  day,  in  the  Council  Chamber,  the 
Aldermen  of  Savannah  had  drawn  up  and  ratified  an 
address  to  the  President.  Accordingly  the  officials  of  the 
City  now  waited  in  a  body  on  the  President  —  presumably 
about  noon  on  Saturday  —  resplendent  in  all  the  bravery 
of  their  official  insignia.  The  Marshal  carried  a  white 
staff  six  and  a  half  feet  long,  bearing  the  device  "M.C.S." 

nel  of  the  Fourth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  troops,  January  3,  1776;  com- 
missioned brigadier-general,  February  21,  1777,  and  joined  the  army  under 
General  George  Washington  in  New  Jersey.  He  served  brilliantly  through- 
out the  Revolution,  his  best-known  achievement  being  the  capture  of 
Stony  Point,  for  which  he  received  the  thanks  of  Congress  and  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  Pennsylvania.  He  received  brevet  rank  of  major-general, 
October  10,  1783.  He  removed  to  Georgia  and  settled  on  a  tract  of  land 
donated  him  by  that  State  as  a  recompense  for  his  military  service,  and 
served  in  the  Second  Congress,  as  Representative  from  Georgia,  March  4, 

1791,  to  March  21,  1792.  Nominated  by  Washington  as  major-general  and 
General-in-Chief  of  the  United  States  Army,  he  was  confirmed  April  3, 

1792.  Defeated  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  Northwest  at  the  battle  of  Fallen 
Timbers,  August  20,  1794.  He  is  known  as  "Mad  Anthony  Wayne"  for  his 
unexpected  success  in  perilous  expeditions.  Washington  describes  him  as 
"more  active  and  enterprising  than  judicious  and  cautious."  He  died  in 
Presque  Isle,  Pennsylvania,  December  15,  1796. 

1  Traces  of  these  lines  of  defence  are  still  visible  in  the  rear  of  the  town. 
For  an  account  of  their  appearance  as  late  as  1848,  see  Lossing. 

221 


TVashingtorfs  Southern  Tour 

in  white  letters  on  a  red  field;  the  Constable  carried  a  blue 
staff  of  like  proportions,  bearing  the  name  and  number 
of  his  ward  in  white  letters  on  a  red  field ;  and  even  the 
scavenger,  if  he  were  there  —  and  what  city  official,  espe- 
cially the  scavenger,  would  have  been  absent  on  such  an 
occasion!  —  bore  his  staff  of  office,  one  foot  long,  black 
with  each  end  red.  The  Mayor  of  the  Corporation, 
Thomas  Gibbons,  delivered  the  following  address  to  the 
President,  in  the  presence  of  a  respectful  and  interested 
audience: 

Sir, 

The  Mayor  and  Aldermen  of  the  City  of  Savannah  do  unan- 
imously concur  in  presenting  their  most  affectionate  con- 
gratulations to  you  on  your  arrival  in  this  city.  Impressed 
with  a  just  sense  of  your  great  and  eminent  services  to 
America,  permit  us,  the  Representatives  of  the  City,  to  as- 
sure you  of  the  high  opinion  the  citizens  entertain  of  your 
elevated  virtues. 

We  respect  you  as  one  of  the  richest  and  most  valuable 
blessings  divine  goodness  has  bestowed  on  the  People  of  these 
United  States;  your  presence  is  an  evidence  of  the  watchful 
care  you  have  for  every  part  of  the  extended  empire  over 
which  you  preside.  If  we  cannot,  by  external  shew,  demon- 
strate that  respect  for  you  which  is  in  the  power  of  the  more 
wealthy  of  our  sister  states  to  display,  yet  none  estimate  your 
merits  higher  than  the  People  of  Georgia.  The  historic  page 
bears  record  of  our  sufferings  in  the  late  Revolution,  and  the 
vestiges  of  war  remain  within  view  of  our  capital;  and  al- 
though peace  was,  in  1783,  restored  to  America,  yet  Georgia 
continued  to  suffer  under  the  destructive  ravages  of  an  Indian 
war,  and  it  has  been  reserved  for  the  efficacy  of  the  present 
Government  to  give  peace  to  our  state. 

May  the  blessings  of  the  Government  long  continue  under 
your  administration,  and  may  it  please  the  Great  Ruler  of 
Events  to  grant  you  long  residence  on  earth,  and  to  length  of 

222 


Georgia:  Savannah 

days  add  the  blessings  of  uninterrupted  health,  that  the  ad 
vantages  of  the  present  Government  may  be  permanently 
established. 

Th.  Gibbons,  Mayor 

Council  Chamber,  May  13,  1791. 

The  President  in  his  answer  complied  with  the  formalities 
of  the  occasion: 

Gentlemen, 

Your  affectionate  congratulations  on  my  arrival  in  this 
city,  and  the  very  favorable  sentiments  you  express  towards 
me,  are  received  with  gratitude,  and  thanked  with  sincerity. 
Estimating  favors  by  the  cordiality  with  which  they  are  be- 
stowed, I  confess  with  real  pleasure,  my  obligations  to  the 
Corporation  of  Savannah,  and  I  can  never  cease  to  entertain 
a  grateful  sense  of  their  goodness. 

While  the  virtuous  conduct  of  your  citizens,  whose  patriot- 
ism braved  all  the  hardships  of  the  late  war,  engaged  my  es- 
teem, the  distress  peculiar  to  the  state  of  Georgia,  after  the 
peace,  excited  my  deepest  regret. 

It  was  with  singular  satisfaction  I  perceived  that  the  effi- 
cacy of  the  General  Government  could  interpose  effectual  re- 
lief, and  restore  tranquillity  to  so  deserving  a  Member  of  the 
Union.  Your  sentiments  on  this  event  are  worthy  of  citizens, 
who,  placing  a  due  value  on  the  blessings  of  peace,  desire  to 
maintain  it  on  the  immutable  principles  of  justice  and  good 
faith. 

May  the  harmony  of  your  city  be  consequent  on  your  ad- 
ministration, and  may  you  individually  be  happy.1 

G.  Washington 

1  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  Savannah's  streets,  "State,"  "Congress," 
"President,"  recall  the  events  of  the  Revolution;  and  even  more  definitely 
the  city  wards  which  have  the  names;  Washington,  Greene,  Warren,  and 
Franklin.  A  quotation  from  a  recent  address  by  P.  W.  Meldrin,  when 
Mayor  of  Savannah,  epitomizes  the  city's  romantic  history:  "Every  spot 
is  hallowed.  Where  the  Vernon  River  flows  by  Beaulieu,  the  dashing  d'Es- 
taing  landed  to  make  his  attack  with  the  allied  forces  of  Savannah.  Hard 
by  is  Bethesda,  'House  of  Mercy,'  where  Jew,  Protestant  and  Roman 
Catholic  united  in  founding  Georgia's  noblest  charity.  There  it  was  that 

223 


Washington'' s  Southern  Tour 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Masons  of  Georgia,  desirous  of 
paying  tribute  to  the  illustrious  brother  on  the  occasion  of 
his  visit  to  the  city,  gathered  at  Brown's  Coffee  House  on 
Saturday;  and  there  proceeded  in  Masonic  order  to  the 
house  provided  for  the  President,  where  the  following  ad- 
dress was  delivered  by  George  Houstoun,  Grand  Master  of 
all  the  Masons  in  the  State  of  Georgia: 

Sir,  and  Brother, 

The  Grand  Master,  Officers,  and  Members  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Georgia,  beg  leave  to  congratulate  you  on  your  ar- 
rival in  this  city. 

Whilst  your  exalted  character  claims  the  respect  and  defer- 
ence of  all  men,  they,  from  the  benevolence  of  masonic  princi- 
ples, approach  you  with  the  familiar  declaration  of  fraternal 
affection. 

Happy  indeed  that  Society,  renowned  for  its  antiquity,  and 
pervading  influence  over  the  enlightened  world,  which,  having 
ranked  a  Frederic  at  its  head,  can  now  boast  of  a  Washing- 
ton as  a  Brother  —  a  Brother  who  is  justly  hailed  the  Re- 
deemer of  his  Country,  raised  it  to  glory,  and  by  his  con- 
duct in  public  and  private  life  has  evinced  to  Monarchs,  that 
true  majesty  consists  not  in  splendid  royalty,  but  in  intrinsic 
worth. 

With  these  sentiments  they  rejoice  at  your  presence  in  this 
state,  and,  in  common  with  their  fellow  citizens,  greet  you 
thrice  welcome,  flattering  themselves  that  your  stay  will  be 
made  agreeable. 

Wesley  sang  his  inspired  songs  and  Whitefield  with  his  eloquence  thrilled 
the  world.  On  the  river  is  the  grove  where  General  Greene  lived  and  died, 
and  Whitney  wrought  from  his  fertile  brain  the  wonderful  invention  which 
revolutionized  commerce.  Near  at  hand,  almost  sunk  into  oblivion,  is  the 
spring  made  historic  by  the  daring  of  Jasper  and  Newton.  There  stands 
Savannah's  pride,  her  Academy  of  Arts  and  Science.  Over  there  is  the 
home  where  Washington  was  entertained,  and  across  the  street  are  the  guns 
which  he  captured  at  Yorktown.  Here,  at  our  very  feet,  Casimir  Pulaski 
fell,  charging  at  the  head  of  his  legion,  while  Jasper,  rescuing  the  colors, 
yielded  up  his  gallant  life." 

224 


Georgia:  Savannah 

May  the  Great  Architect  of  the  Universe  preserve  you, 
whilst  engaged  in  the  work  allotted  you  on  earth,  and  long 
continue  you  the  brightest  pillar  of  our  temple;  and,  when  the 
supreme  flat  shall  summon  you  hence,  they  pray  the  Mighty 
I  Am  may  take  you  into  his  holy  keeping. 

George  Houstoun,     Grand  Master  of 
All  Masons  in  the  State  of  Georgia. 
Grand  Lodge  in  Savannah,  14M  May,  1791. 

The  President  neatly  "covered  the  ground"  in  his  very 
brief  reply: 

Gentlemen, 

I  am  much  obliged  by  your  congratulations  on  my  arrival 
in  this  city,  and  I  am  highly  indebted  to  your  favorable 
opinions. 

Every  circumstance  concurs  to  render  my  stay  in  Savannah 
agreeable,  and  it  is  cause  of  regret  to  me  that  it  must  be  so 
short. 

My  best  wishes  are  offered  for  the  welfare  of  the  Fraternity 
and  for  your  particular  happiness. 

G.  Washington 

The  formal  ceremonies  being  concluded,  the  Grand 
Master  introduced  to  the  President  the  Right  Worshipful 
Past  Grand  Master,  officers,  and  members. 

On  this  day  was  presented  to  Washington  the  address  of 
the  German  Congregation  of  Ebenezer  —  which  is  unique 
in  that  it  is  written  in  Latin.   It  follows  below: 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

Permittas,  quaeso,  Illustrissime  Washington!  ut  devoti 
piique  animi  sensa  tibi  declarem,  cui  contigerit  insignis  ilia 
felicitas,  te  Savannae  adeundi,  virum,  tot  tantisque  factis 
illustrem.  Profecto  admiratus  sum  tuam  humanitatem  et 
indulgentiam,  qua  me  hominem  ignotum  excepisti,  qui  non 
ausus  essem  ad  te  accedere  nisi  ab  amico  optimo  certior  factus 
essem,  tristem  abs  te  discedere  neminem.  Georgia  laetatur  de 

225 


Washirigtorfs  Southern  Tour 

te  et  Splendidissima  praesentia,  qua  earn  exhibarare  dignatus 
es.  Diu  vivas  o  Washington !  deliciae  americani  populi,  tuum- 
que  nomen,  et  facta  illustria  vera  posteritas  celebrabit.  Sem- 
per precabor  Deum  Optimum  Maximum,  qui  te  praesidem 
harum  civitatum  constituit,  ut  omnibus  rebus  conatibusque 
Tuis  propitius  adsit.  Accipe  hanc  tenuiorem  epistolam,  nullo 
ornatu  commendabilem,  eadem  indulgentia,  qua  me  excipere 
dignatus  es.  Anglice  quidem  scripturus  eram  si  facultate 
pollerem  eleganter  scribendi,  et  ut  dignum  esse  posset  insigni- 
bus  virtutibus  et  illustrissimis  Factis  tuis.  Peregrimes,  in 
hanc  provinciam  missus  sum  benignissimam  doctrinam  Re- 
demtoris  nostri  profitendi  inter  posteros  colonorum  Salisbur- 
gensium,  quos  inprimis  quia  curae  meae  concrediti  sunt,  cum 
omni  gente  germanica  Georgiae  Americanae  Tuo  potentissimo 
patrocinio  magnopere  comendo.  Ego  vero  nunquam  desinam 
ardentissimas  preces  mittere  ad  Deum  benignissimum,  pro 
totius  populi  Americani  salute. 

John  Earnst  Bergman, 
Minister  of  the  German  Congregation  of  Ebenezer 
Savannah  d.  14.  May  1791. 

The  events  for  the  remainder  of  this  day  and  evening, 
in  which  the  President  participated  are  thus  excellently 
described  in  a  contemporary  print : 

In  the  afternoon  the  President  honored  the  Citizens  with 
his  company  at  a  dinner  prepared  for  him  under  a  beautiful 
arbor,  supported  by  three  rows  of  pillars,  entirely  covered 
with  laurel  and  bay  leaves,  so  as  to  exhibit  uniform  green 
columns.  The  pillars  were  higher  than  the  arbor,  and  orna- 
mented above  it  by  festoons,  and  connected  below  by  arches 
covered  in  the  same  manner.  The  place  on  which  it  stood  was 
judiciously  chosen,  presenting  at  once  a  view  of  the  city  and 
of  the  shipping  in  the  harbor,  with  an  extensive  prospect  of 
the  river  and  rice  lands  both  above  and  below  the  town.  But 
the  principal  advantage  which  resulted  from  its  situation  and 
structure  was  the  opportunity  which  it  afforded  to  a  great  body 
of  people  to  have  a  distinct  and  uninterrupted  view  of  that 
object  to  which  all  eyes  and  hearts  appeared  to  be  attracted. 

226 


Georgia:  Savannah 

A  company  of  nearly  200  citizens  and  strangers  dined  un- 
der it,  and  the  satisfaction  which  each  one  enjoyed  in  paying 
this  personal  tribute  to  the  merit  of  a  man  who  is,  if  possible, 
more  beloved  for  his  goodness  than  admired  for  his  greatness, 
produced  a  degree  of  convivial  and  harmonious  mirth  rarely 
experienced. 

Every  one  beheld  with  delight  in  the  person  of  our  Presi- 
dent the  able  General,  the  virtuous  Patriot,  the  profound 
Politician;  in  a  word,  one  of  the  most  shining  ornaments  that 
ever  dignified  human  nature. 

The  Artillery  Company  dined  under  another  arbor  erected 
at  a  small  distance,  and  received  merited  applause  for  the 
great  dexterity  which  they  displayed  in  firing  at  each  toast. 
Their  fires  were  returned  by  Fort  Wayne,  and  the  ship 
Thomas  Wilson,  which  was  moored  opposite  to  the  arbor;  her 
decorations  through  the  day,  and  illumination  at  night,  had  a 
fine  effect. 

The  following  toasts  were  given: 

1.  The  United  States  of  America. 

2.  Prosperity  to  the  Citizens  of  Savannah  and  its  vicinity. 
(By  the  President.) 

3.  The  Fair  of  America. 

4.  The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 

5.  The  memorable  Era  of  Independence. 

6.  The  Count  d'Estaing. 

7.  The  Memory  of  General  Greene. 

8.  The  Arts  and  Sciences. 

9.  The  Memory  of  those  brave  Men  who  fell  before  the 
Lines  of  Savannah  on  the  9th  of  October,  1779. 

10.  The  Friends  to  free  and  equal  government  throughout 
the  globe. 

11.  All  foreign  Powers  in  Friendship  with  the  United  States. 

12.  May  Religion  and  Philosophy  always  triumph  over  Su- 
perstition and  Prejudice  in  America. 

13.  The  present  dexterous  Corps  of  Artillery  (The  Presi- 
dent's toast). 

(After  the  President  retired.) 

The  President  of  the  United  States. 

227 


Washington's  Sontheim  Tour 

The  construction  of  the  arbor,  and  the  manner  in  which  the 
entertainment  was  provided  and  conducted,  did  great  honor 
to  the  gentlemen  to  whose  direction  the  whole  was  com- 
mitted. 

In  the  evening  there  was  a  handsome  exhibition  of  fire- 
works, and  the  amusements  of  this  day  of  joy  and  festivity 
were  concluded  by  a  Concert. 

The  Chatham  Artillery  Company,  which  won  such  favor 
in  the  President's  eyes  during  his  stay  in  Savannah,  was 
organized  on  May  i,  1786.  On  the  20th  of  June  follow- 
ing it  was  called  upon  to  pay  the  soldier's  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  Major-General  Nathanael  Greene.  This  Rev- 
olutionary hero  had  settled  at  "Mulberry  Grove"  in  1783, 
and  frequently  visited  Savannah.  A  sunstroke  carried 
him  off  on  June  19,  1786.  At  the  front  of  the  funeral 
procession  was  the  Chatham  Artillery  firing  minute  guns 
and  advancing;  and  at  the  grave  it  fired  a  salute  of  thirteen 
guns.  Not  long  after  the  President's  departure,  this  com- 
pany received  from  the  President  the  gift  of  the  "Wash- 
ington Guns,"  two  six-pounder  bronze  fieldpieces.  Upon 
one  of  the  guns  are  inscribed  the  words:  "Surrendered  by 
the  capitulation  of  York  Town,  October  nineteenth,  1781. 
Honi  soit  qui  mat  y  pense.  —  G.  R."  —  with  the  imperial 
crown.  It  was  cast  in  1756,  during  the  reign  of  George  II. 
These  guns,  though  long  since  lost  to  service,  are  prized  as 
precious  relics  by  the  ancient  artillery  company.  In  this 
connection  it  may  be  mentioned  that  at  the  house  of 
General  Greene,  near  Savannah,  his  daughter  in  1807  re- 
ceived the  brass  cannon,  captured  at  Eutaw  Springs,  which 

Congress  voted  to  her  gallant  father. 

228 


GENERAL  JAMES   JACKSON 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

BBftfEfiSITY  i'F  ILLIMMS 


Georgia:  Savcuinah 

The  day  after  the  departure  of  "General  Washington," 
as  he  was  usually  called,  the  following  card  appeared  in 
the  public  journals  of  Savannah: 

General  Jackson  1  requests  Captain  Else  of  the  Artillery, 
and  Montfort  of  the  Volunteer  Infantry,  to  accept  his  best 
thanks  for  their  soldierly  conduct  at  the  reception,  during  the 
stay,  and  on  the  departure  of  the  President.  He  likewise  pre- 
sents his  thanks  to  the  Commissioned  and  Non-Commissioned 
Officers  and  Privates  of  each  Corps. 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  the  General  to  announce  to  the  Artillery 
the  very  general  applause  they  received  on  Saturday,  and, 
what  ought  to  immortalize  the  corps,  the  approbation  of  their 
conduct,  expressed  in  the  warmest  terms  by  the  Commander 
in  Chief  of  the  United  States.  The  General  hopes  that  this 
character,  so  firmly  established,  will  long  continue  them  an 
ornament  to  the  Militia,  and  an  honor  to  the  State  of  Georgia. 

1  James  Jackson  was  born  in  Moreton-Hampstead,  Devonshire,  Eng- 
land, September  21,  1757.  He  removed  to  Georgia  in  1772  and  located  in 
Savannah.  He  studied  law  just  prior  to  the  Revolution.  He  first  served  in 
1776  as  a  private  in  the  Volunteer  Light  Infantry  of  Savannah;  was  soon 
promoted  to  command  of  the  company.  He  served  throughout  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  participated  in  many  engagements,  notably  Blackstocks  and  the 
Cowpens.  He  was  appointed  by  the  Legislature  to  the  command  of  the 
Georgia  Legion,  and  remained  in  command  until  the  evacuation  of  Savan- 
nah, receiving  the  keys  of  the  city  from  the  British,  July  12,  1782.  After 
the  Revolution  he  resumed  the  practice  of  law.  On  the  organization  of  the 
State  militia,  he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  Chatham  Regiment; 
was  later  a  brigadier  of  the  State,  and  ultimately  major-general  of  the 
First  Division.  He  was  a  member  of  the  first  Constitutional  Convention  of 
Georgia,  in  1777;  clerk  of  the  court,  by  election  of  the  Provincial  Congress, 
1776-77.  Member  of  the  Georgia  House  of  Representatives  on  various  oc- 
casions, from  1781  to  1788.  In  1788,  at  the  age  of  thirty-one,  he  was  elected 
governor  of  Georgia,  but  declined  on  the  score  of  youth  and  inexperience. 
Elected  to  the  First  Congress  (March  4,  1789-March  3,  1791);  contested 
the  election  of  Anthony  Wayne  in  the  Second  Congress,  and  the  seat  was 
declared  vacant  by  the  House,  March  21,  1792.  Elected  to  the  United 
States  Senate  and  served  from  March  4,  1793,  until  his  resignation  in  1795. 
Was  presidential  elector  in  1797;  governor  of  Georgia,  1798-1801;  again 
elected  to  the  United  States  Senate,  and  served  from  March  4,  1801,  until 
his  death  in  Washington,  D.C.,  March  16,  1806.  His  remains  were  in- 
terred in  the  Congressional  Cemetery,  Washington,  D.C. 

229 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

The  Field  Officers  of  the  Chatham  Regiment  will  be  pleased 
to  communicate  this  order,  and  to  receive  the  General's  high- 
est commendations  of  their  attention  to  the  duties  required  of 
them. 

Jas.  Jackson 
Brigadier  General  first  District 
Savannah,  May  sixteenth,  1791- 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE  SIXTH  STAGE 

Augusta,  Georgia,  and  Columbia,  South  Carolina 

THE  graciousness  and  hospitality  of  the  people  of 
Savannah  made  a  most  pleasant  impression  upon 
the  President.  He  was  in  no  hurry  to  leave;  and  "took 
things  easy"  on  Sunday.  After  attending  morning  service, 
he  held  quite  a  reception  at  his  lodgings  —  as  he  records  in 
the  diary,  "  receiving  a  number  of  visits  from  the  most 
respectable  ladies  of  the  place  (as  was  the  case  yester- 
day)." The  use  of  the  adjective  in  this  association  is 
strange  to  modern  ears,  and  provokes  a  smile.  When  he 
finally  did  make  a  late  start,  he  had  a  splendid  farewell 
retinue  —  being  "  Escorted  beyond  the  limits  of  the  City 
by  most  of  the  Gentlemen  in  it." 

If  Washington  was  pleased  by  his  reception  in  Savan- 
nah, the  people  of  Savannah  were  equally  pleased  —  and 
probably  more  enthusiastic  in  expression  than  the  digni- 
fied and  impassive  Washington.  The  following  tribute  to 
Washington  after  his  departure  appeared  in  the  "Georgia 
Gazette"  of  Savannah  and  deserves  quotation  in  full: 

It  is  highly  pleasing  to  a  grateful  and  patriotic  mind  to  re- 
flect upon  the  happy  consequences  which  will  probably  flow 
from  the  tour  which  the  President  is  now  performing.  His  ad- 
mirable qualities  has  long  since  extended  his  fame  to  the  ut- 
most limits  of  civilization,  but  it  is  only  by  personal  inter- 
views that  a  just  idea  can  be  acquired  of  the  amiableness  of 

231 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

his  temper  and  his  engaging  manners.  The  intelligent  seren- 
ity of  his  countenance,  the  unaffected  ease  and  dignity  of  his 
deportment,  while  they  excite  the  most  profound  respect, 
naturally  rivet  the  affections  to  him.  As  the  most  unlimited 
confidence  is  reposed  in  his  prudence,  abilities,  and  patriot- 
ism, this  effect  must  have  essential  influence  in  giving  energy 
to  that  government  in  the  administration  of  which  he  has  so 
considerable  a  part. 

Once  more  Washington  had  the  pleasure  of  dining  with 

his  sprightly  and  charming  friend,  Mrs.  Greene.  A  glimpse 

of  the  life  at  "Mulberry  Grove"  is  caught  in  a  letter  Mrs. 

Greene  wrote  to  a  friend,  Miss  Flagg: 

If  you  expect  to  be  an  inhabitant  of  this  country,  you  must 
not  think  to  sit  down  with  your  netting  pins;  but  on  the  con- 
trary employ  half  your  time  at  the  toilet,  one  quarter  to  pay- 
ing and  receiving  visits;  the  other  quarter  to  scolding  serv- 
ants, with  a  hard  thump  every  now  and  then  over  the  head; 
or  singing,  dancing,  reading,  writing,  or  saying  your  prayers. 
The  latter  is  here  quite  a  phenomenon;  but  you  need  not  tell 
how  you  employ  your  time. 

An  even  more  explicit  description  is  given  by  General 

Greene  shortly  after  his  arrival  there  in  1785: 

We  found  the  house,  situation,  and  out-buildings  more  con- 
venient and  pleasing  than  we  expected.  The  prospect  is  de- 
lightful, and  the  house  magnificent.  We  have  a  coach  house 
and  stables,  a  large  out  kitchen,  and  a  poultry-house  nearly 
fifty  feet  long,  and  twenty  wide,  parted  for  different  kinds  of 
poultry,  with  a  pigeon-house  on  the  top,  which  will  contain 
not  less  than  a  thousand  pigeons.  Besides  these,  are  several 
other  buildings  convenient  for  a  family,  and  among  the  rest, 
a  fine  smoke-house.  The  garden  is  in  ruins,  but  there  are  still 
a  great  variety  of  shrubs  and  flowers  in  it.1 

1  In  another  letter  to  his  friend  Ethan  Clark,  of  Newport,  Rhode  Island, 
to  whom  the  above  letter  is  addressed,  Greene  says  (April,  1786):  "This  is  a 
busy  time  with  us,  and  I  can  afford  but  a  small  portion  of  time  to  write. 

232 


GENERAL  NATHANAEL  GREENE 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

MUVEIftlTY  8FJ!L|{«0|S 


Augusta  and  Columbia 

After  a  delightful  sojourn  here  of  a  few  hours,  during 
which  he  dined  with  his  charming  hostess,  the  President 
set  forth  once  more  on  the  "open  road,"  and  after  trav- 
elling fifteen  miles  lodged  at  "one  Spencers."  Washing- 
ton's observations  upon  Savannah,  and  his  brief  record  of 
the  wholly  uneventful  two  days  (Monday  and  Tuesday) 
which  followed,  are  copied  below: 

Savanna  stands  upon  what  may  be  called  high  ground  for 
this  Country  —  It  is  extremely  sandy  wch  makes  the  walking 
very  disagreeable;  &  the  houses  uncomfortable  in  warm  & 
windy  weather,  as  they  are  filled  with  dust  whenever  these 
happen.  —  The  town  on  3  sides  is  surrounded  with  cultivated 
Rice  fields  which  have  a  rich  and  luxuriant  appearance.  On 
the  4th  or  backside  it  is  a  fine  sand.  —  The  harbour  is  said  to 
be  very  good,  &  often  filled  with  square  rigged  vessels,  but 
there  is  a  bar  below  over  which  not  more  than  12  feet  water 
can  be  brot.  except  at  sprg.  tides.  —  The  tide  does  not  flow 
above  or  12  or  14  miles  above  the  City  though  the  River  is 
swelled  by  it  more  than  double  that  distance.  —  Rice  &  To- 
bacco (the  last  of  wch.  is  greatly  increasing)  are  the  principal 
Exports  —  Lumber  &  Indigo  are  also  Exported,  but  the  lat- 
ter is  on  the  decline,  and  it  is  supposed  by  Hemp  &  Cotton.  — 
Ship  timber,  viz:  live  Oak  &  Cedar,  is  (and  may  be  more  so) 
valuable  in  the  exptn. 

We  are  planting.  We  have  got  upwards  of  sixty  acres  of  corn  planted,  and 
expect  to  plant  one  hundred  and  thirty  of  rice.  The  garden  is  delightful. 
The  fruit-trees  and  flowering  shrubs  form  a  pleasing  variety.  We  have 
green  peas  almost  fit  to  eat,  as  fine  lettuce  as  ever  you  saw.  The  mocking 
birds  surround  us  evening  and  morning.  The  weather  is  mild,  and  the 
vegetable  kingdom  is  progressing  to  perfection.  But  it  is  a  great  deduction 
from  the  pleasure  we  should  feel  from  the  beauties  and  conveniences  of  the 
place,  that  we  are  obliged  to  leave  it  before  we  shall  have  tasted  of  several 
kinds  of  fruits.  We  have  in  the  same  orchard  apples,  pears,  peaches,  apri- 
cots, nectarines,  plums  of  different  kinds,  figs,  pomegranites,  and  oranges. 
And  we  have  strawberries  which  measure  three  inches  around.  All  these 
are  clever,  but  the  want  of  our  friends  to  enjoy  them  with  us  renders  them 
less  interesting."  Consult  G.  W.  Greene:  Life  of  Nathanael Greene  (Hough- 
ton, Mifflin  &  Co.,  1890). 

233 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

Monday,  16th. 

Breakfasted  at  Russells — 15  miles  from  Spencer's  — 
dined  at  Garnets  19  further  &  lodged  at  Pierces  8  miles  more, 
in  all  —  42  miles  to  day. 

Tuesday,  ijth. 

Breakfasted  at  Spinner's  17  miles —  dined  at  Lamberts  13 
—  and  lodged  at  Waynesborough  (wch.  was  coming  6  miles 
out  of  our  way)  14,  in  all  43  miles  —  Waynesborough  is  a 
small  place,  but  the  Seat  of  the  Court  of  Burkes  County  — 
6  or  8  dwelling  houses  is  all  it  contains;  —  an  attempt  is  mak- 
ing (without  much  apparent  effect)  to  establish  an  Academy 
at  it  as  is  the  case  also  in  all  the  Counties. 

The  preparations  for  Washington's  reception  by  the 
citizens  of  Augusta  are  most  succinctly  exhibited  in  the 
orders  issued  from  time  to  time,  and  published  in  the 
"Augusta  Chronicle"  of  May  21st: 

Government  House 
Augusta,  April  25,  1791 

General  Order. 

Ambrose  Gordon,1  Esq.  Major  of  the  Richmond  County 
regiment  of  militia,  with  not  less  than  fourteen  volunteers, 
are  directed  to  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  march  and  es- 
cort the  President  of  the  United  States  to  this  place. 
By  order  of  the  Commander  in  Chief. 

Attest.  J.  Meriwether,  Sec'y. 

Government  House 
May  9,  1 79 1 

General  Order. 

Major  Gordon  is  directed  to  march  without  delay  with 

1  Colonel  Ambrose  Gordon,  1751-1804,  soldier  of  the  Revolution  and  of- 
ficer of  the  Georgia  State  militia,  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  June  28,  1751. 
Removing  to  Georgia  he  settled  in  Washington  County  in  1784.  His  death 
occurred  January  28,  1804,  and  the  body  rests  in  old  St.  Paul's  churchyard 
at  Augusta,  Georgia. 

234 


Augusta  and  Columbia 

the  escort  ordered  the  25th  April  last,  the  nearest  route  to 
Savannah. 

By  order  of  the  Commander  in  Chief. 
Attest.  J.  Meriwether,  Sec'y. 

Tuesday,  May  17,  1791. 
Ordered, 

That  the  State  Officers,  together  with  General  Twiggs  * 
and  the  sheriffof Richmond  County,  do  assemble  at  the  State- 
house  to-morrow  at  1 1  o'clock,  a.m.  from  whence  they  are  to 
proceed  in  the  following  order  of  procession  to  meet  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States: 

The  sheriffof  Richmond  County  —  General  Twiggs  —  The 
Secretary  of  the  state  —  The  Governor's  Secretary  —  His 
Excellency  the  Governor  —  Judge  Walton  —  Governor's  Sec- 
retary —  The  Treasurer,  The  Solicitor  General  —  The  Attor- 
ney General,  The  Surveyor  General,  Clerk  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  —  Secretary  of  the  Senate. 
Ordered, 

That  the  artillery  take  post  at  the  old  fort  —  and  upon  the 
President's  approach  to  the  town,  to  fire  a  salute  of  fifteen 
rounds. 

Attest.  J.  Meriwether,  S.  E.  D. 

1  General  John  Twiggs  was  born  in  one  of  the  Northern  States,  Mary- 
land, it  is  thought,  June  5,  1750.  Some  time  prior  to  the  Revolution,  he  re- 
moved to  Georgia  accompanying  John  Emanuel,  whose  daughter  Ruth  he 
married.  Settling  in  St.  Paul's  Parish  (Richmond  County),  he  at  once  iden- 
tified himself  with  the  Georgia  patriots,  among  whom  his  genius  for  com- 
mand soon  made  him  an  acknowledged  leader.  During  the  war  he  com- 
manded an  independent  body  of  troops,  and  record  is  left  of  no  braver  or 
more  efficient  officer. 

For  his  gallant  services  he  was  made  Brigadier-General  in  1781  and  later 
given  extensive  tracts  of  land  by  the  Georgia  Legislature.  He  filled  many 
important  public  offices,  including  several  terms  in  the  General  Assembly; 
represented  the  State  in  treaty  negotiations  with  the  Indians  at  Augusta  in 
1803;  and,  having  been  raised  to  the  rank  of  Major-General  in  1792,  was  re- 
quested, as  ranking  militia  officer,  to  take  charge  of  the  State  Government 
in  the  interregnum  of  two  months  following  the  retirement  of  Governor 
Mathews  from  office.  This,  however,  he  modestly  declined  to  do.  He  died 
March  29,  18 16. 

235 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

State  house,  Augusta,  May  18,  1791 
The  officers  having  assembled  agreeably  to  the  order  of 
yesterday,  at  11  o'clock  set  forward,  accompanied  by  a  nu- 
merous train  of  respectable  citizens;  at  the  distance  of  five 
miles  from  town,  the  President  of  the  United  States  ap- 
peared in  sight,  when  the  procession  halted,  at  which  time  he 
alighted  from  his  coach,  mounted  his  horse,  and  advanced 
with  Major  Jackson  and  the  Federal  Marshal;  his  excellency 
the  Governor  at  the  same  time,  attended  by  the  Secretary  of 
the  State,  moved  forward,  and  after  being  announced,  con- 
gratulated the  President  on  his  near  approach  to  the  resi- 
dence of  government; —  this  ceremony  being  ended,  the  pro- 
cession was  resumed,  and  the  President  conducted  to  the 
house  provided  for  his  reception. 
Attest.  W.  Urquhart,  S.  E.  D. 

In  his  diary  Washington  made  the  following  brief  state- 
ment: 

Breakfasted  at  Tulcher's  15  miles  from  Waynesborough; 
and  within  4  miles  of  Augusta  met  the  Govor.  [Telfair], 1 

1  Edward  Telfair  was  born  in  1735  on  the  farm  of  Town  Head,  Scotland. 
Educated  at  the  grammar  school  of  Kirkudbright,  he  emigrated  to  Amer- 
ica at  the  age  of  twenty-three  as  the  representative  of  a  business  house.  He 
settled  first  in  Virginia,  next  lived  for  a  time  in  Halifax,  North  Carolina, 
and  in  1766  settled  in  Savannah,  Georgia.  He  was  a  member  of  committees 
in  July,  1 774,  raised  by  the  people  of  Georgia  for  assisting  the  other  colonies 
in  asserting  American  rights;  delegate  to  the  Provincial  Congress  of  Geor- 
gia, January,  1775;  assisted  in  seizing  the  powder  in  the  public  magazine  in 
Savannah.  In  June,  1775,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Council  of  Safety ; ; 
and  was  a  delegate  to  the  Provincial  Congress  of  Georgia,  July,  1775.  In 
1778  he  was  chosen  a  delegate  from  Georgia  to  the  Continental  Congress, 
serving  until  January,  1783;  reelected  in  May,  1785,  but  did  not  serve.  He 
was  chosen  Boundary  Commissioner  in  1783;  and  the  same  year  assisted  in 
negotiating  treaties  with  the  Indians.  He  was  elected  Governor  of  Geor- 
gia in  1786;  and  was  a  member  of  the  Convention  which  ratified  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States.  In  1789  he  was  again  elected  Governor  of 
Georgia.  He  died  in  Savannah,  September  19,  1807.  He  accumulated  a 
considerable  fortune,  and  the  charitable  bequests  of  his  daughters  are  re- 
membered with  gratitude  for  their  magnitude  and  liberal  scope. 

236 


GEORGE  WALTON 


|HE  LIBRARY 

OF  THE 


Augusta  and  Columbia 

Judge  Walton,2  the  Attorney  Genl.  &  most  of  the  principal 
Gentlemen  of  the  place;  by  whom  I  was  escorted  into  the 
Town,  &  reed,  under  a  discharge  of  Artillery,  —  the  distance 
I  came  to  day  was  about  32  miles.  . . . 

The  road  from  Savanna  to  Augusta  is,  for  the  most  part, 
through  Pine  barrens;  but  more  uneven  than  I  had  been  ac- 
customed to  since  leavg.  Petersburgh  in  Virginia,  especially 
after  riding  about  30  miles  from  the  City  of  that  name;  here 
&  there  indeed,  a  piece  of  Oak  land  is  passed  on  this  Road, 
but  of  small  extent  &  by  no  means  of  the  first  quality. 

The  President  was  conducted  by  "the  upper  road";  and 
arriving  at  Augusta  about  one  o'clock,  accompanied  by 
a  numerous  retinue,  rode  through  lines  of  cheering  specta- 
tors down  Broad  Street  to  the  house  prepared  for  his  en- 
tertainment, Captain  Howell's  artillery  all  the  while  firing 
salutes.  A  feature  of  the  parade  was  a  detachment  under 
the  command  of  Major  Ambrose  Gordon,  of  the  Augusta 
Volunteer  Light  Horse,  who  "cut  a  very  superb  appear- 
ance —  their  uniform  being  blue,  faced  with  red  and  laced 

2  George  Walton,  born  in  Prince  Edward  County,  Virginia,  in  1749;  he 
became  an  orphan  at  an  early  age.  When  twenty  years  old,  he  removed  to 
Savannah,  Georgia,  and  there  entered  upon  the  practice  of  law.  He  took 
an  active  part  in  the  popular  movements  looking  toward  independence  in 
1774.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Council  of  Safety,  June  22,  1775; 
and  acted  as  Secretary  of  the  Provincial  Congress  which  convened  at  Sa- 
vannah, July  4,  1775.  He  drafted  the  famous  address  to  the  people  of  Geor- 
gia on  the  state  of  American  affairs.  Chosen  as  delegate  to  the  Continental 
Congress  by  the  Provincial  Congress  which  assembled  in  Savannah,  Janu- 
ary 20,  1776,  he  continued  as  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress  until 
October,  1781,  save  for  an  interval  in  1779,  when  he  filled  the  gubernatorial 
chair  of  Georgia.  As  colonel  of  the  First  Battalion  of  the  First  Regiment  of 
Foot  Militia,  he  was  sorely  wounded  in  the  defence  of  Savannah,  Decem- 
ber, 1778.  In  January,  1783,  he  was  elected  Chief  Justice  of  the  State  of 
Georgia.  In  1787  he  was  appointed  a  delegate  from  the  State  of  Georgia  to 
the  Federal  Convention,  but  did  not  attend.  In  1789  he  was  again  elected 
Governor  of  Georgia.  In  1795  anc^  J79^  ne  represented  Georgia  in  the  Con- 
tinental Congress.  For  fifteen  years  and  until  his  death,  February  2,  1804, 
he  served  as  Judge  of  the  Middle  Circuit  of  Georgia. 

237 


Washington' s  Southern  Tour 

with  silver,  their  caps  and  other  accoutrements  equal  to 

their  uniforms,  and  the  horses  nearly  of  a  colour  and  in 

good  order." 

Governor  Telfair's  family  residence,  "The  Grove,"  near 

Augusta,  was  the  scene  of  a  large  and  brilliant  dinner  to 

the  President  at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  this  day. 

Here  were  gathered  many  patriots  who,  like  the  Governor, 

during  the  Revolution 

On  war's  red  touchstone 
Rang  true  metal. 

After  dinner,  when  stories  and  anecdotes  regaled  the 

over-grave  President  until  he  quite  unbent,  the  following 

toasts  were  drunk: 

i.  The  United  States. 

i.  The  State  of  Georgia.   (The  President's  toast.) 

3.  The  joyful  occasion. 

4.  The  Vice-President. 

5.  The  4th  of  July,  1776. 

6.  The  17th  October,  1777. 

7.  19th  October,  1781. 

8.  The  first  of  May. 

9.  The  memory  of  General  Greene. 

10.  The  memory  of  those  who  bravely  fell  in  defence  of 

American  Liberty. 
n.  Our  Ministers  at  Foreign  Courts. 

12.  Agriculture. 

13.  Commerce. 

14.  Arts  and  sciences. 

15.  Republican  virtue. 

Especial  significance  in  the  minds  of  the  assembled 

guests  attached  to  two  of  the  toasts  —  the  17th  October, 

1777,  when  Burgoyne  surrendered  five  thousand  eight 

hundred  men  at  Saratoga;  and  the  19th  October,  1781  — 

238 


Augusta  and  Columbia 

when  the  famous  soldier,  Lord  Cornwall  is,  yielded  to  com- 
bined American  and  French  forces  under  Washington  at 
Yorktown  and  virtually  brought  to  a  close  the  bitter  and 
protracted  struggle  for  independence.  Later  the  Presi- 
dent drank  tea  with  "many  well  dressed  ladies"  —  an 
enthusiastic  compliment  as  coming  from  Washington,  who 
usually  thought  he  had  done  his  full  duty  by  the  fair  sex 
when  he  called  them  "respectable."  Mrs.  Telfair  gave  a 
ball  "to  the  Ladies"  that  evening  at  "The  Grove,"  at 
which  the  President  was  present  for  a  short  time. 

On  Thursday  morning  the  citizens  of  Augusta  voted  to 
the  President,  and  forthwith  presented  to  him  the  following 
address: 

Sir, 

Your  journey  to  the  southward  being  extended  to  the 
frontier  of  the  Union  affords  a  fresh  proof  of  your  indefati- 
gable zeal  in  the  service  of  your  country,  and  an  equal  atten- 
tion and  regard  to  all  the  people  of  the  United  States.  With 
these  impressions  the  citizens  of  Augusta  present  their  con- 
gratulations upon  your  arrival  here  in  health,  with  the  assur- 
ance that  it  will  be  their  greatest  pleasure,  during  your  stay 
with  them,  to  testify  the  sincere  affection  thay  have  for  your 
person,  their  sense  of  obligations  for  your  merits  and  services, 
and  their  entire  confidence  in  you  as  the  Chief  Magistrate  of 
their  country.  On  your  return,  and  at  all  times,  their  best 
wishes  will  accompany  you,  while  they  retain  the  hope  that  a 
life  of  virtue,  benevolence,  and  patriotism,  may  be  long  pre- 
served, for  the  benefit  of  the  age,  and  example  to  posterity. 

In  the  name  of  all  the  citizens, 

George  Walton,  Peter  Carnes, 

John  Meals,  Seaborn  Jones.1 

Thomas  Cumming, 

Augusta,  May  19,  1791. 

Thomas  Cumming,  first  Intendant  of  the  Town  of  Augusta,  and  first 

239 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

To  this  simple  and  friendly  address,  the  President  re- 
plied as  follows: 

Gentlemen, 

I  receive  your  congratulations  on  my  arrival  in  Augusta 
with  great  pleasure.  I  am  much  obliged  by  your  assurances 
of  regard,  and  thank  you  with  unfeigned  sincerity  for  the  fa- 
vorable sentiments  you  are  pleased  to  express  towards  me. 

Entreating  you  to  be  persuaded  of  my  gratitude,  I  desire  to 
assure  you,  that  it  will  afford  me  the  most  sensible  satisfac- 
tion to  learn  the  progression  of  your  prosperity.  My  best 
wishes  for  your  happiness,  collectively  and  individually,  are 
sincerely  offered. 

G.  Washington. 

president  of  Georgia's  oldest  bank,  the  Bank  of  Augusta,  chartered  Decem- 
ber 6,  1810,  was  born  May  30,  1765,  and  died  March  6,  1834,  in  Augusta, 
Georgia,  where  he  lies  buried.  He  was  a  man  of  outstanding  prominence 
and  broad  interests.  For  many  years  he  was  a  trustee  of  Richmond  County 
Academy  and  was  one  of  the  commissioners  appointed  in  1791  to  examine 
into  the  condition  of  the  State  Treasury.  His  oldest  son,  William  Cum- 
ming,  was  a  gallant  soldier  of  the  War  of  1 8 1 2,  holding  the  rank  of  Colonel 
in  the  United  States  Army. 

Peter  Johnston  Carnes,  one  of  the  delegation  of  five  Augusta  citizens, 
presenting  President  Washington  on  his  visit  to  Georgia  in  1791  a  welcome 
address  printed  on  parchment,  was  a  man  of  prominence  and  ability.  A 
member  from  Jefferson  County  to  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1798, 
he  was  the  author  of  the  clause  prohibiting  the  further  importation  of  slaves 
into  the  State.  During  the  years  1 799-1 804  Peter  Carnes  and  George  Wal- 
ton served  as  Solicitor-General  and  Judge,  respectively,  of  the  Middle  Cir- 
cuit of  Georgia. 

Seaborn  Jones,  Revolutionary  patriot,  was  born  in  Halifax  County, 
North  Carolina,  in  1758.  He  was  one  of  seven  sons,  and,  after  the  death  of 
their  father,  the  family  moved  to  Georgia,  settling  in  what  was  later  Burke 
County,  just  prior  to  the  Revolution  in  which  all  seven  of  the  brothers 
served.  Following  the  war,  Seaborn  Jones,  then  a  man  of  prominence  in  his 
section,  filled  with  distinction  a  number  of  high  public  offices,  being  the 
first  Speaker  of  the  Georgia  House  of  Representatives  under  the  Constitu- 
tion of  1789;  one  of  Georgia's  four  presidential  electors  of  1793;  a  member 
in  the  General  Assembly  in  1787,  1789,  and  1790,  and  Intendantor  Mayor 
of  Augusta,  Georgia,  for  several  years.  He  was  a  pew-holder  in  old  St. 
Paul's  Church,  and  a  trustee  of  the  Richmond  County  Academy.  His 
death  occurred  about  1823  and  the  body  lies  buried  in  St.  Paul's  church- 
yard. 

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Augusta  and  Columbia 

At  half-past  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  this  day  the 
Augusta  Volunteer  Light  Horse  encamped  on  the  bank  of 
the  river.  After  pitching  their  tents  and  finishing  their 
pickets,  they 

completed  a  very  handsome  grove,  which  looked  as  if  the 
beautiful  hand  of  nature  had  exerted  herself  on  this  joyous  oc- 
casion, and  seconded  their  efforts  in  honor  to  the  saviour  and 
friend  of  his  country.  About  3  o'clock,  they  paraded  to  re- 
ceive the  illustrious  President  of  the  United  States  of  Amer- 
ica —  during  the  discharge  of  a  salute  from  the  artillery,  the 
horses  stood  extremely  well.  When  the  President  passed,  the 
officers  saluted;  and  as  soon  as  he  was  seated  and  the  firing 
over,  they  sat  down  to  an  elegant  dinner,  provided  by  them- 
selves, on  the  occasion,  and  drank  the  following  toasts: 

1.  The  President  of  the  United  States  of  America;  may  he 
return  safe  and  in  health  to  his  favorite  seat. 

2.  The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

3.  The  Congress  of  the  United  States. 

4.  Louis  the  XVI  and  the  patriots  of  France. 

5.  The  memorable  era  of  Independence. 

6.  The  Governor  of  Georgia. 

7.  The  fair  sex  of  Georgia. 

8.  Population  and  industry. 

9.  The  friends  of  freedom. 

10.  Salutary  laws  and  well  supported. 

1 1 .  The  memory  of  those  brave  heroes  who  fell  in  defence  of 
their  country's  independence. 

12.  May  we  never  want  a  heart  or  a  hand  to  support  the 
Federal  Government. 

13.  Improvements   and  extension  to  the  navigation  and 
commerce  of  Georgia. 

14.  May  unanimity  and  virtue  ever  be  the  characteristic  of 
Americans. 

15.  May  merit  ever  be  the  only  foundation  of  distinctions 
among  freemen. 

They  made  a  handsome  figure  vying  with  each  other  in 
adroitness  and  soldier-like  behaviour.  They  spent  the  remain- 

241 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

der  of  the  evening  together  with  that  conviviality,  hilarity 
and  harmony,  due  to  the  joyous  event  for  which  they  had 
been  embodied. 

The  frankness  of  the  narrator  is  delightful :  the  connotation 
of  "conviviality,  hilarity  and  harmony"  leaves  nothing  to 
be  desired. 

At  half-past  four  o'clock  that  afternoon  the  President 
partook  of  an  "elegant  dinner"  provided  by  popular  sub- 
scription at  the  Court-House,  which  was  attended  by  Gov- 
ernor Telfair  and  a  large  number  of  citizens.  After  din- 
ner the  usual  number  of  toasts  were  drunk  —  conspicuous 
among  which  was  the  last :  to  North  Carolina  and  Rhode 
Island,  the  hesitant  sisters. 

i.  The  United  States. 

1.  The  State  of  Georgia,  and  prosperity  to  Augusta.  {By 
the  President.) 

3.  The  Vice-President  and  Congress. 

4.  Louis  XVI  and  the  other  Allies  of  the  Union. 

5.  The  National  Assembly  of  France. 

6.  The  memory  of  General  Greene  and  those  who  fell  in  de- 
fence of  our  country. 

7.  The  Marquis  de  la  Fayette. 

8.  The  defenders  of  the  rights  of  human  nature  throughout 
the  world. 

9.  Agriculture,  manufactures,  and  commerce. 

10.  The  arts  and  science. 

11.  The  arms  of  defence. 

12.  The  important  4th  of  July,  1776. 

13.  May  the  old  age  of  America  flourish  in  the  liberty  of  its 
youth. 

14.  The  perfection  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 

15.  Prosperity  to  our  two  new  admitted  Sister  States. 

In  the  evening  the  President,  as  he  says,  with  comical 

spelling,  "went  to  an  Assembly.  .  .  at  the  Accadamy," 

242 


Augusta  and  Columbia 

there  being  present  between  "60  &  70  well  dressed  ladies" 
(evidently  the  Augusta  ladies  had  fine  taste  in  the  art  of 
costume,  to  impress  "the  General"),  the  "largest  number 
of  Ladies,"  according  to  the  "Augusta  Chronicle,"  "ever 
assembled  at  this  place."  The  following  morning,  records 
the  President  in  his  diary,  "Viewed  the  Ruins,  or  rather 
small  Remns.  of  the  Works  which  had  been  erected  by  the 
British  during  the  War  and  taken  by  the  Americans. — Also 
the  falls,  which  are  about  2  miles  above  the  Town ; — and  the 
Town  itself."  Although  he  doesn't  mention  it  in  his  diary, 
the  President,  as  fully  attested  by  the  "Augusta  Chron- 
icle," "honored  the  examination  of  the  students  at  the 
Academy  with  his  presence."  The  Richmond  Academy 
is  an  ancient  institution,  with  an  honorable  history.  On 
July  31,  1783,  the  Legislature  of  Georgia  passed  a  law 
for  the  establishment  of  a  "  Seminary  of  Learning."  The 
building  first  used  as  a  schoolhouse  in  1785  was  located 
below  the  bridge  on  Bay  Street,  between  Elbert  and  Lin- 
coln Streets.  "From  1780  to  1786,  while  Savannah  [the 
Seat  of  State  Government]  was  occupied  by  the  enemy, 
Augusta  was  declared  the  temporary  capital  of  the  State; 
and  there  being  no  public  buildings  in  Augusta  suitable 
for  the  purpose,  those  of  the  Academy  were  used  as  the 
State  House,  and  the  State  and  Federal  Courts  were  held 
there."  l  The  records  of  the  Academy  show  that,  at  the 

1  History  of  Augusta,  Georgia.  By  C.  C.  Jones,  Jr.,  and  Salem  Dutcher. 
(Syracuse,  New  York,  1890.)  Under  an  act  of  1780,  a  lot  on  Broad  Street 
was  reserved  "  for  houses  of  public  seminary  and  schools."  A  new  board 
of  commissioners  —  namely,  William  Glascock,  George  Walton,  Joseph 
Pannel,  Andrew  Burns,  and  Samuel  Jack  —  somewhat  later  was  empowered 
to  sell  certain  lots,  the  proceeds  to  be  used  to  establish  and  maintain  a 

243 


Washington* s  Southern  Tour 

examination  in  1789,  to  Edward  (Edmund?)  Bacon,  who 
excelled  in  general  learning,  was  presented  a  gold  medal 
of  the  value  of  an  eagle,  with  a  device  thereon  indica- 
tive of  the  occasion,  and  that  "of  the  girls  of  the  Acad- 
emy" Sally  Parish  excelled,  and  to  her  was  awarded  a 
volume  of  Thomson's  "Seasons."  On  the  occasion  of  the 
President's  visit,  Master  Edmund  Bacon  was  chosen  as  the 
orator  of  the  day.  Addressing  himself  directly  to  Wash- 
ington, he  delivered  the  following  specimen  of  the  poetic 
art  of  that  day  and  locality: 

In  ages  past,  we  see  a  splendid  train 
Of  heroes  shine,  in  panegyric's  strain  — 
Historic  pens  have  varnished  o'er  their  crime, 
And  prais'd,  in  them,  the  vices  of  the  time: 
To  conquer  nations;  millions  to  devour; 
To  reign  in  all  the  wantonness  of  power; 
To  follow  glory;  to  acquire  a  name; 
Their  cause  ambition,  and  their  objective  fame. 
'Tis  ours  to  boast  a  hero  great  and  good; 
With  courage  and  benevolence  endued. 
Superior  genius  you,  whose  breast  can  feel 
No  other  motives  but  your  country's  weal. 
Superior  firmness  with  such  virtues  arm'd; 
Your  people  loving,  by  your  people  lov'd. 
Let  not  th'  expressions  of  our  love  offend 
Our  Saviour,  father,  citizen  and  friend. 
Deny  us  not  the  pleasure  thus  t'  impart, 
Without  disguise,  the  feelings  of  the  heart. 
Thou  friend  of  science,  liberty,  and  laws, 
Forever  active  in  thy  country's  cause; 
We  are  thy  children  —  let  thy  fancy  trace, 
In  us,  the  congregated,  rising  race, 

seminary.  This  is  the  origin  of  the  Richmond  Academy.  By  its  charter  its 
trustees  were  ex-officiis  commissioners  of  the  town.  The  first  master  of 
the  Academy  was  William  Rogers,  of  Maryland. 

244 


Augusta  and  Columbia 

Adopted,  ere  we  drew  the  vital  air, 

And  snatch'd  from  slavery  by  thy  watchful  care. 

Heirs  of  that  freedom,  by  that  valor  won; 

May  we  ne'er  mar  the  work  by  thee  begun! 

As  we've  been  taught  to  glow  at  thy  renown, 

So  we'll  transmit  by  bright  example  down. 

Each  future  babe  shall  learn  to  lisp  thy  name; 

To  love  thy  worth  and  emulate  thy  fame. 

Whene'er  the  powers  of  infant  reason  dawn, 

Full  in  his  view  thy  portrait  shall  be  drawn. 

Hence  on  his  mind  these  truths  will  be  impress'd; 

That  virtue  can  be  only  truly  blest. 

Though  power  may  glare  in  all  the  pomp  of  state; 

That  virtue  only  can  be  truly  great. 

Though  vanity  may  bask  in  flattery's  rays; 

That  virtue  only  meets  with  honest  praise; 

That  virtue  only  claims  our  whole  esteem; 

That  virtue  only  reigns  with  power  supreme. 

In  our  full  hearts,  what  grateful  raptures  rise! 

When  o'er  past  scenes,  our  active  fancy  flies: 

We  hail  the  day,  you  took  the  glorious  field, 

And  made  the  doughty  British  Lion  yield! 

Then,  though  the  sceptre  waited  on  your  word, 

For  calm  retirement,  you  resign'd  the  sword. 

You  scorn'd  the  glory  power  usurp'd  imparts; 

You  scorned  to  reign  but  in  a  people's  heart. 

Again  we  see  you  bless  Potomack's  shore, 

Resolv'd  to  leave  sweet  Vernon's  shades  no  more. 

Delightful  seat!  by  our  fond  choice  design'd, 

T'  enjoy,  in  peace,  your  self  approving  mind. 

Again  your  country's  call  obey'd. 

With  fond  regret,  you  left  your  fav'rite  shore, 

To  feel  the  weight  of  public  cares  once  more. 

Hail  joyous  day!  what  acclamations  rung! 

Joy  fill'd  each  eye,  and  rapture  mov'd  each  tongue, 

At  your  instalment!  —  never  monarch  wore 

So  bright,  so  rich  a  diadem  before. 

No  more  let  sparkling  dross  ambitions  move; 

245 


Washington? s  Southern  Tour 

Your  diadem,  is  —  universal  love. 

But  hold  —  this  theme  is  painful  to  your  ear; 

Though  lightly  touch'd,  by  gratitude  sincere  — 

Indulge  our  joys,  forgive  our  forward  zeal; 

Let  your  own  heart  imagine  what  we  feel! 

What  various  transports  in  our  bosoms  glow, 

Swell  the  full  heart,  and  at  the  eyes  o'er  flow!! 

Almighty  God!  Since  virtue  is  thy  ear; 

O  hear  a  nation's  universal  prayer! 

May  all  the  joys,  this  transient  scene  can  know, 

Full  on  his  heart,  in  gentle  currents  flow!  — 

May  all  the  joys,  benevolence  inspires, 

Pursue  him  still  when  he  from  time  retires! 

May  this  one  joy,  forever  crown  the  whole; 

And  with  immortal  rapture  fill  his  soul! 

May  he,  from  heaven's  sublime,  eternal  scenes, 

See  future  millions  happy  through  his  means!!! 

And  let  mankind  this  serious  truth  confess; 

None  ere  was  prais'd  so  much,  —  none  ever  flatter'd  less. 

In  a  contemporary  print  it  is  solemnly  recorded  of  young 
Bacon's  address  to  the  President,  that  it  was  delivered 
"with  such  distinctness  of  articulation;  such  propriety  of 
pauses  and  emphasies ;  and  in  a  manner  so  truly  pathetic,  as 
to  keep  that  illustrious  hero  and  a  numerous  collection  of 
gentlemen  in  tears  almost  the  whole  time  the  little  orator 
was  speaking."  Such  a  poem,  even  to-day,  might  well 
move  any  one  to  tears.  Homage  to  the  sensibility  of  our 
ancestors ! x 

1  At  the  centennial  celebration  of  Richmond  Academy  on  June  29,  1 893, 
the  orator  of  the  day,  the  Honorable  William  H.  Fleming,  said  among  other 
things:  "In  1791  the  academy  was  signally  known  by  the  presence  of  Gen- 
eral Washington.  I  gather  from  the  statements  of  the  chronicles  there  the 
distinguished  visitor  intended  to  depart  on  the  twentieth  of  the  month,  but 
was  prevailed  upon  to  remain  another  day  by  two  inducements  that  were 
offered  him.  One  was  the  examination  of  the  pupils  of  the  Richmond  Acad- 
emy; and  the  other  was  a  ball  to  be  given  by  Mrs.  Telfair.   Now  which  of 

246 


Augusta  and  Columbia 

At  the  State  House  this  day  (20th)  was  done  the  follow- 
ing Address  of  the  Executive  of  the  State  of  Georgia,  which 
was  then  presented  to  the  President : 

My  warmest  congratulations  on  your  arrival  at  the  resi- 
dence of  government  in  this  state,  are  presented  with  a  pecul- 
iar pleasure,  as  well  as  a  feeling  sensibility;  and  I  am  per- 
suaded that  these  emotions  are  perfectly  congenial  with  those 
of  my  fellow  citizens. 

After  the  gratification  felt  from  your  presence  among  them, 
they  will  naturally  contemplate  the  many  unavoidable  incon- 
veniences arising  in  so  arduous  and  extensive  a  tour  with  the 
most  solicitous  anxiety  not  less  impressed,  my  cordial  wishes 
shall  accompany  you  through  every  stage  on  your  return  to 
the  seat  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 

Long  may  you  remain  to  fill  the  exalted  station  of  Chief 
Magistrate  of  the  American  republics,  as  the  just  reward  of 
that  patriotism  which  marked  every  act  of  your  life,  whilst 
engaged  in  the  arduous  struggles  of  a  long  and  complicated 
war,  gave  tone  to  the  liberties  of  your  country,  immortalized 
your  name  throughout  the  nations  of  the  world,  and  created 
an  unbounded  confidence  in  your  virtue,  with  the  strongest 
attachment  to  your  person  and  family,  in  the  minds  of  Ameri- 
can citizens. 

Edward  Telfair. 
State-house,  Augusta, 
May  20,  1 79 1. 

these  two  inducements  offered  him  affected  most  strongly  his  heart  and 
head,  the  recitation  and  the  speeches  or  the  music  and  the  dance,  is  unfor- 
tunately shrouded  in  mystery.  But  in  the  absence  of  proof  to  the  contrary, 
I  think  we  are  excusable  for  claiming  that  it  was  his  interest  in  learning, 
and  his  appreciation  of  the  importance  of  this  institution  that  caused  the 
chief  magistrate  of  the  Union  and  the  foremost  man  of  the  age  to  alter  his 
high  purpose  and  linger  in  our  midst  another  day.  This  explanation  ap- 
pears the  more  probable  from  the  fact  that  we  have  no  information  as  to 
whom,  among  the  fair  maids  and  matrons  at  the  ball,  the  'Father  of  his 
Country'  led  in  the  frolicksome  reel  or  clasped  in  the  palpitating  waltz. 
While,  on  the  other  hand,  we  are  reliably  informed  that  he  was  present  at 
the  examination  of  the  Academy  Students,  and,  in  the  language  of  the 
Chronicle,  'expressed  himself  handsomely  of  their  performance.'  " 

247        ■ 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

To  which  the  President  of  the  United  States  was  pleased 
to  make  the  following  answer: 

Sir, 

Obeying  the  impulse  of  a  heart  felt  gratitude,  I  express 
with  particular  pleasure  my  sense  of  the  obligations  which 
your  Excellency's  goodness  and  the  kind  regards  of  your  citi- 
zens, have  conferred  upon  me. 

I  shall  always  retain  the  most  pleasing  remembrance  of  the 
polite  and  hospitable  attentions,  which  I  have  received  in  my 
tour  through  Georgia,  and  during  my  stay  at  the  residence  of 
your  government. 

The  manner  in  which  your  Excellency  is  pleased  to  recog- 
nize my  public  services,  and  to  regard  my  private  felicity, 
excites  my  sensibility,  and  claims  my  grateful  acknowledg- 
ment. 

You  will  do  justice  to  the  sentiments  which  influence  my 
wishes,  by  believing  that  they  are  sincerely  preferred  for  your 
personal  happiness,  and  the  prosperity  of  the  state  in  which 
you  preside. 

That  afternoon,  with  a  "select  party,"  the  President, 
as  he  states  in  his  diary, 

Dined  at  a  private  dinner  with  Govr.  Telfair  today;  and 
gave  him  dispatches  for  the  Spanish  Govr.  of  East  Florida,  re- 
specting the  Countenance  given  by  that  Governt.  to  the  fugi- 
tive Slaves  of  the  Union  —  wch.  dispatches  were  to  be  for- 
warded to  Mr.  Seagrove,  Collector  of  St.  Mary's,  who  was 
requested  to  be  the  bearer  of  them,  and  instructed  to  make 
arrangements  for  the  prevention  of  these  evils  and,  if  pos- 
sible, for  the  restoration  of  the  property  —  especially  of  those 
slaves  wch.  had  gone  off  since  the  orders  of  the  Spanish  Court, 
to  discountenance  this  practice  of  recg.  them. 

On  Saturday  morning,  about  six  o'clock,  the  President 

made  his  departure  from  Augusta;  and  as  he  crossed  the 

Savannah  River  by  the  bridge  he  received  the  "salute  of 

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Augusta  and  Columbia 

Major  Gordon's  horse  and  Captain  Howell's  artillery." 
At  the  entrance  to  the  bridge  His  Excellency  the  Governor, 
and  the  Federal  and  State  officers,  paid  their  compli- 
ments and  bade  the  President  farewell.  Says  a  writer  in 
the  "Augusta  Chronicle": 

Much  commendation  is  due  to  the  officers  and  men  of  the 
two  corps  who  were  in  service  upon  this  occasion,  for  their  at- 
tention and  adroitness,  and  particularly  to  that  of  the  horse 
which  went  as  far  as  Savannah,  and  arrived  in  a  short  time  to 
a  perfection  of  discipline  and  order. 

We  are  happy  upon  the  present  occasion  to  announce  to 
our  readers,  that  during  his  stay  here,  the  President  gave  re- 
peated demonstrations  of  the  most  entire  satisfaction;  and 
that  all  orders  of  men  appeared  anxious  to  pay  respect  to  the 
person  and  character  of  this  illustrious  and  good  man. 

Washington  in  his  diary  has  recorded  his  impression  of 
the  falls  of  the  river,  two  miles  above  Augusta,  and  of  the 
town  itself: 

These  falls  (as  they  are  called)  are  nothing  more  than  rap- 
ids. —  They  are  passable  in  their  present  state  by  boats  with 
skilful  hands,  but  may  at  a  very  small  expence  be  improved, 
by  removing  a  few  rocks  only,  to  streighten  the  passage.  — 
Above  them  there  is  good  boat  navigation  for  many  miles; 
by  which  the  produce  may  be,  &  in  some  measure  is,  trans- 
ported. —  At  this  place,  i.  e.  the  falls,  the  good  lands  begin; 

I  &  encrease  in  quality  to  the  westward  &  No. ward.  —  All 
below  them,  except  the  Interval  lands  on  the  Rivers  and  Rice 
Swamps  which  extend  from  them,  the  whole  Country  is  a 

i  Pine  barren.  —  The  town  of  Augusta  is  well  laid  out  with 
wide  &  spacious  Streets.  —  It  stands  on  a  large  area  of  a 
perfect  plain  but  it  is  not  yet  thickly  built  tho'  surprizingly  so 
for  the  time;  for  in  1783  there  were  not  more  than  half  a 

dozen  dwelling  houses;  now  there  are  not  less  than 

containing  about Souls  of  which  about 

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Washington's  Southern  Tour 

are  blacks.  —  It  bids  fair  to  be  a  large  Town  being  at  the 
head  of  the  present  navigation,  &  a  fine  Country  back  of  it  for 
support,  which  is  settling  very  fast  by  Tobacco  planters.  — 
The  culture  of  which  article  is  encreasing  very  fast,  and  bids 
fair  to  be  the  principal  export  from  the  State;  from  this  part 
of  it,  it  certainly  will  be  so. 

Augusta,  though  it  covers  more  ground  than  Savanna, 
does  not  contain  as  many  Inhabitants  the  latter  having  by 
the  late  census  between  14  &  1500  whites  and  about  800 
blacks.1 

A  final  memento  of  Washington's  visit  to  Augusta  is  the 
following  set  of  orders  which  appeared  in  the  "Augusta 
Chronicle,"  May  21,  1791 : 

General  Order. 

The  Commander  in  Chief  is  particularly  gratified  with  the 
military  appearance  and  discipline  of  the  volunteer  troop  of 
horse,  under  the  command  of  Major  Gordon,  as  well  as  with 
the  promptitude  with  which  they  have  executed  the  duties 
assigned  them,  during  the  distinguished  and  honorable  serv- 
ice in  which  they  have  been  engaged,  and  presents  his  thanks 
to  Major  Gordon  and  through  him  to  each  individual  in  his 
corps. 

Attest.  J.  Meriwether,  Sec. 

Government  House,  Augusta. 
After  Orders 
The  escort  under  the  command  of  Major  Gordon  is  here- 
by discharged. 

By  order  of  the  commander  in  chief. 
Attest.  J.  Meriwether,  Sec. 

1  In  1 79 1,  as  we  learn  from  the  Memorial  History  of  Augusta,  Georgia, 
Augusta  is  said  to  have  contained  two  hundred  and  fifty  houses  and  a  popu- 
lation of  eleven  hundred.  The  public  buildings  consisted  of  a  church,  a 
court-house,  and  an  academy  wherein  between  eighty  and  ninety  pupils 
were  instructed,  a  stone  jail,  a  government  house  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  Governor  and  the  State  officials,  and  three  warehouses  capable  of  stor- 

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THE  LIBRARY 

OF  THE 
EHSITY  OF  M.UMI8 


Augusta  and  Columbia 

The  citizens  of  Columbia  were  fully  apprized  of  the 
coming  of  Washington;  and  on  Monday,  18th,  a  com- 
mittee from  Columbia  consisting  of  four  prominent 
citizens  —  Colonel  Taylor,  Colonel  Wade  Hampton,  and 
Mr.  Lythgoe,  all  of  Columbia,  and  Mr.  Jameson,  of 
Granby,1  set  out  from  Columbia  for  Augusta,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  accompanying  the  President  to  Columbia.  They 
arrived  in  time  to  escort  the  President  out  of  Augusta  at 
six  o'clock  on  Saturday,  21st.  The  President  records  for 
the  remainder  of  that  day:  "Dined  at  a  house  2  about  20 

ing  ten  thousand  hogsheads  of  tobacco.    In  that  year  over  six  thousand 
hogsheads  of  tobacco  were  there  inspected. 

1  Colonel  Thomas  Taylor,  who  is  presumably  referred  to  here,  was  prob- 
ably born  in  Virginia.  He  and  his  brother  James  were  among  the  first  set- 
tlers on  the  east  side  of  the  Congaree  River;  and  were  the  most  influential 
men  of  the  community.  At  the  opening  of  the  Revolution,  Captain  James 
Taylor  raised  a  company  at  Camden,  and  Thomas  Taylor  was  commis- 
sioned Colonel  of  the  regiment.  Both  he  and  his  brother  were  captured 
at  Fishing  Creek,  but  succeeded  in  effecting  their  escape  while  on  the 
march  to  Camden  under  guard  of  a  detachment  of  Tarleton's  dragoons. 
(Consult  Johnson's  Traditions  for  many  incidents  connected  with  Colonel 
Taylor's  army  experiences.) 

Wade  Hampton  was  born  in  South  Carolina  in  1754;  received  a  good 
schooling  and  devoted  himself  to  agriculture;  was  active  in  pre-Revolu- 
tionary  movements;  served  under  Marion  and  Sumter;  was  elected  to  the 
Fourth  Congress  (March  4,  1795,  to  March  3,  1797);  reelected  to  the 
Eighth  Congress  (March  4,  1803,  to  March  3,  1805);  presidential  elector 
on  the  Jefferson  and  Burr  ticket  in  1801;  Colonel  in  the  United  States 
Army  in  1808;  was  appointed  brigadier-general  in  February,  1809,  and 
major-general  March  2,  1813;  served  in  the  War  of  1812  and  resigned 
April  6,  1 8 14;  was  reputed  the  wealthiest  planter  in  the  United  States 
and  the  owner  of  three  thousand  slaves  in  1830;  died  in  Columbia,  South 
Carolina,  February  4,  1835. 

Of  Mr.  Lythgoe,  nothing  is  known  save  that  he  was  a  prominent  citi- 
zen of  Columbia. 

Mr.  Jameson  was  probably  the  Mayor  of  Granby. 

2  In  his  History  of  Edgefield  County,  John  A.  Chapman  says  the  house 
here  mentioned  by  Washington  was  the  "Pine  House,"  or  "Piney  Woods 
House."  "  If  I  am  not  mistaken,"  he  says,  "  it  has  been  in  the  ownership  of 
the  Bettis  family  ever  since  a  period  anterior  to  the  Revolutionary  War." 

251 


TVashingto?i>  s  Southern  Tour 

miles  from  Augusta  and  lodged  at  one  Odem,  about  20 

miles  farther."   Says  a  contemporary  print: 

On  the  22d  general  Winn,1  and  several  other  respectable 
gentlemen,  rode  out  to  meet  him,  and  about  sun  set,  arrived 
at  Granby,  proceeding  immediately  to  the  ferry  on  the  Con- 
garee  river,  leading  from  Granby,  to  Columbia;  the  banks  of 
the  river  at  that  place  were  lined  with  the  neighbouring  in- 
habitants, who  anxiously  waited  for  the  president's  arrival. 
He  was  attended  from  the  ferry  by  a  number  of  gentlemen, 
on  horseback,  and  when  advanced  near  to  the  state  house,  the 
light  horse  under  command  of  captain  Kershaw,  completely 
accoutred,  formed  on  the  left,  near  the  edge  of  the  woods,  and 
saluted  him  with  much  respect;  he  was  then  conducted  to  a 
house  comodiously  prepared  for  his  reception,  where  a  few 
gentlemen,  and  the  officers  of  the  troop  were  introduced. 

Washington  records  that  he  passed  the  first  falls  in  the 
Congaree,  just  above  the  village  of  Granby,  in  a  "flat 
bottomed  boat  at  a  Rope  ferry";  and  that  he  travelled 
forty-eight  miles  that  day,  breakfasting  at  a  point  twenty- 
one  miles  from  Augusta.  "The  whole  road  from  Augusta  to 

1  Richard  Winn  was  born  in  Eastern  Virginia  about  1750;  received  a  lim- 
ited schooling;  removed  to  Georgia;  entered  the  Continental  service  early 
in  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  in  1775  was  a  lieutenant  of  South  Carolina 
rangers,  participating  in  the  battle  on  Sullivan's  Island.  He  was  then  placed 
in  command  of  Fort  Mcintosh,  Georgia,  promoted  to  the  rank  of  colonel, 
and  later  commanded  the  militia  in  Fairfield  District,  South  Carolina;  was 
wounded  at  the  battle  of  Hanging  Rock;  was  actively  engaged  during  the 
remainder  of  the  war.  After  the  war  he  succeeded  General  William  Hen- 
derson in  the  command  of  the  Fairfield  militia,  with  the  rank  first  of  brig- 
adier-general, and  then  major-general,  of  militia.  His  home  was  on  the  hill 
where  now  stands  the  residence  of  ex-Senator  Thomas  H.  Ketchin,  opposite 
the  hill  on  which  is  Mount  Zion  Academy,  established  by  the  Mount "  Sion" 
Society  in  1777,  to  which  in  1785  General  Winn  gave  one  hundred  acres  of 
land.  He  was  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly  which  met  at  Jackson- 
borough,  January  18,  1782;  was  elected  to  Congress,  serving  March  4, 
1793,  to  March  3,  1797,  twice  alternating  with  General  Thomas  Sumter; 
was  reelected  to  Congress,  serving  from  March  4, 1801,  to  March  3,  18 13. 
In  1 8 13  he  removed  to  the  eastern  part  of  the  country,  dying  there  in  the 
same  year. 

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Augusta  and  Columbia 

Columbia,"  he  adds,  "is  a  pine  barren  of  the  worst  sort, 
being  hilly  as  well  as  poor.  This  circumstance  added  to  the 
distance,  length  of  the  stages,  want  of  water  and  heat  of 
the  day,  foundered  one  of  my  horses  very  badly." 

Ever  since  1718,  when  a  trading-post  called  Fort  Con- 
garees  had  been  established  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river, 
the  site  of  Columbia  had  been  more  or  less  frequented;  and 
throughout  the  century  down  to  the  Revolution  the  early 
records  contain  references  to  the  Congarees,  the  Fort  at 
the  Falls,  Fort  Granby,  and  Friday's  Ferry.  Fort  Granby, 
a  dwelling  fortified  by  the  British,  was  one  of  a  chain 
of  military  posts  from  Camden  to  Charleston.  This  post 
was  captured  by  Colonel  Lee,  of  the  famous  partisan  "Le- 
gion," in  May,  1781.  In  time,  the  many  natural  advan- 
tages of  the  site,  says  August  Kohn,  pointed  to  the  in- 
evitable development  here  of  a  great  inland  centre.  By 
an  act  ratified  March  22,  1786,  it  was  voted  by  the  South 
Carolina  Assembly  to  remove  the  seat  of  government  from 
Charleston  to  a  site  at  Friday's  Ferry.  It  is  interesting  to 
recall  that  the  two  names  considered  for  the  new  capital 
were  Washington  and  Columbia  —  the  latter  winning  by 
a  vote  of  eleven  to  seven.  In  four  years  a  village  had 
sprung  up  there  —  the  wooden  houses,  painted  gray  or 
yellow  according  to  the  taste  of  the  inhabitants,  giving,  as 
Michaux  remarks  (1807),  a  "very  agreeable  appearance." 
The  State  House  —  "surrounded  with  lofty  forests  which 
afford  a  grateful  shade  and  give  the  scenery  a  rural  and 
charming  cast "  —  stood  on  an  eminence  directly  in  the 
centre  of  the  township ;  and  although  not  fully  completed 

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Washington's  Southern  Tour 

in  1790,  accommodated  the  Constitutional  Convention 
of  that  year.1 

On  Monday,  23d,  the  President  held  a  huge  reception 
at  noon  —  to  accommodate  the  very  large  number  of  gen- 
tlemen of  Columbia,  Granby,  Winnsborough,  Camden, 
Statesburgh,  Bellville,  Orangeburgh,  and  their  vicinity  who 
had  assembled  to  pay  him  their  respects.  After  this  fa- 
tiguing ceremony  was  over,  the  President  was  conducted 
to  the  Assembly  Room  of  the  Representatives  in  the  State 
House,  where  were  assembled  "sixty  ladies  who  upon  his 
entering  the  room  arose  and  made  an  elegant  appearance, 
to  whom  he  was  individually  introduced.  The  ladies  were 
then  led  by  the  gentlemen  (there  being  present  153)  to  the 
Senate  Room,  where  they  sat  down  together  in  a  well- 
conceived  arrangement  to  a  farmer's  dinner,  where  plenty 
abounded,  and  from  the  satisfaction  visibly  expressed  on 
each  countenance  it  is  but  just  to  conclude,  that  concord 
and  true  hilarity  presided." 

Memorable  among  the  toasts  were:  one  to  the  National 
Assembly,  expressing  sympathy  for  the  French  Revolu- 
tion on  the  part  of  South  Carolinians,  so  many  of  whom 
emigrated  from  France;  one  to  the  memory  of  Justice 
Henry  Pendleton,2  through  whose  vigorous  efforts  the 

1  The  commissioners,  named  in  the  act  ratified  March  22,  1786,  who  were 
authorized  to  "lay  off  six  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  land  near  Friday's 
Ferry,  on  the  Congaree  River,  on  the  plain  of  the  hill  whereon  James  and 
Thomas  Taylor  resided,"  were :  Commodore  Alexander  Gillon,  Judge  Henry 
Pendleton,  General  Richard  Winn,  Colonel  Richard  Hampton,  and  Colo- 
nel Thomas  Taylor. 

2  Henry  Pendleton  was  born  in  Virginia.  He  was  elected  Judge  of  the 
Courts  of  Law  of  South  Carolina,  April  17,  1776.  He  was  captured  in  the 
Revolution  by  a  party  of  British,  and  afterwards  exchanged,  and  became 

254 


L'ke  St  \te  House  ai  coli  mbia 


STATE  HOUSE,  COLUMBIA,  SOUTH  CAROLINA,  IN   1 794 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

MMERSITY  Op  HUMS 


Augusta  and  Columbia 

capital  of  South  Carolina  had  been  removed  from  Charles- 
ton to  Columbia;  one  to  Miss  Assumption,  who  had  been 
equally  courted  and  flouted;  and  —  most  extraordinary 
and  comical  of  all  —  one  likening  Washington  to  a  gor- 
geous flower!  To  what  a  pitch  of  fatuous  adulation  our 
ancestors  did  go !  There  was  never  a  time  when  Washing- 
ton was  more  truly  admired  than  he  is  to-day.  And  surely 
that  is  because  we  understand  him  better,  and  see  in  him  a 
more  human  figure.  A  full  list  of  the  toasts  given  after  the 
dinner  follows: 

i.  The  United  States. 

2.  (By  the  President.)   The  State  of  South-Carolina. 

3.  The  National  Assembly  of  France  —  a  happy  termina- 
tion to  their  manly  revolution. 

4.  The  federal  legislature  —  may  their  virtues  and  abilities 
be  as  much  admired  abroad,  as  they  are  respected  at 
home. 

5.  The  23d  of  May,  1788. 

6.  A  speedy  establishment  of  the  central  federal  city. 

7.  May  our  mild  laws,  and  the  happy  administration  of 
them,  render  America  an  asylum  for  the  oppressed. 

8.  The  late  American  army  —  may  their  meritorious  con- 
duct serve  as  an  example  for  future  armies. 

9.  The  memory  of  General  Greene,  and  all  who  with  equal 
virtue  and  alacrity  espoused  our  glorious  cause. 

10.  The  memory  of  Justice  Pendleton  —  may  the  independ- 
ent firmness  of  his  principles  ever  be  endearing  to  the 
friends  of  Columbia. 

an  aide  of  General  Nathanael  Greene.  "He  bore  the  orders  of  his  gallant 
chief  in  the  battle  of  Eutaw."  With  Justices  Burke  and  Grimke,  he  was 
appointed  Commissioner  to  form  a  complete  and  accurate  digest  of  the 
State  laws;  was  a  member  of  the  Convention  of  the  People  of  South  Caro- 
lina which  assembled  at  the  Custom  House,  Charleston,  in  May,  1788.  He 
lived  in  Greenville  District;  and  the  house  he  occupied  was  situated  on  or 
near  Golden  Grove  Creek.   He  died  in  1788. 

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Washington's  Southern  Tour 

ii.  Sufficient  means  and  speedy  measures  for  opening  the 
inland  navigation  of  America. 

12.  The  farmers,  manufacturers  and  merchants  of  America 
—  may  their  well  directed  exertions  reward  their  in- 
dustry. 

13.  America's  best  infant  —  Miss  Assumption  and  her 
sponsors. 

14.  Increase  to  our  exports,  and  decrease  to  our  imports. 

15.  An  increase  of  well  established  seminaries  of  learning. 

After  the  President  had  retired,  a  toast  to  him  —  enthu- 
siastically drunk  —  was  couched  in  this  strange,  botanical 
form: 

The  magnificent  Aloe  of  America} 
Our  ancestors  beyond  peradventure  of  a  doubt  knew  how 
to  "  say  it  with  flowers  " ! 

At  eight  o'clock  that  evening,  the  President  returned  to 
the  Assembly  Room,  where  a  grand  ball  was  held  which 

1  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Paul  C.  Standley,  Assistant  Curator,  Division  of 
Plants,  Smithsonian  Institution,  for  the  following  statement  in  answer  to 
my  inquiry: 

"The  title  of  'The  Magnificent  Aloe  of  America'  applied  to  George 
Washington  doubtless  has  reference  to  the  well-known  century  plant  (of 
the  genus  Agave)  which  is  often  referred  to  in  the  earlier  botanical  works  as 
American  Aloe,  although  the  plant  has  no  very  close  relationship  with  the 
Old-World  plant  to  which  that  name  properly  belongs.  The  century  plant 
consists  of  a  large  cluster  of  heavy  dagger-shaped  leaves  whose  margins  are 
furnished  with  short  hocked  spines.  From  the  centre  of  the  mass  of  leaves 
rises  a  flower  stalk,  sometimes  twenty  feet  high  or  more,  which  branches 
above  like  a  candelabrum  and  bears  masses  of  yellow  flowers.  There  is  a 
popular  belief  that  this  plant  blooms  only  after  having  attained  the  age  of 
one  hundred  years  —  hence  the  common  name.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to 
state  that  this  belief  is  incorrect,  for  in  the  wild  state  the  plants  produce 
their  flowers  at  a  much  earlier  age.  Century  plants  are  of  imposing  appear- 
ance and  are  a  conspicuous  feature  of  the  landscape  where  they  occur." 

It  was  presumably  the  popular  view  of  the  century  plant  as  the  hand- 
somest and  most  majestic  in  appearance  of  American  plants  which 
prompted  the  singular  toast  to  George  Washington. 

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Augusta  and  Columbia 

lasted  until  eleven  o'clock.  "We  cannot  better  attribute 
the  regret  which  arose  at  the  separation  of  this  company," 
says  a  contemporary  print,  "than  the  happiness  conferred 
by  the  presence  of  the  ladies  at  dinner,  the  gentlemen 
vying  with  each  other  to  repay  by  every  agreeable  atten- 
tion and  respect  the  ladies  acceptance  of  their  invitation." 
Thus  was  effected,  in  a  most  charming  way,  a  neat  bal- 
ancing of  social  accounts. 

It  was  not  in  accordance  with  the  President's  itinerary 
to  remain  in  Columbia  later  than  the  23d;  but,  as 
he  says  in  his  diary  for  the  24th,  "the  condition  of 
my  foundered  horse  obliged  me  to  remain  at  this  place, 
contrary  to  my  intentions,  this  day  also."  As  he  walked 
through  this  "wilderness  of  pines"  —  down  State  Street, 
considerably  "overrun  with  bushes,"  with  a  pleasing 
glimpse  here  and  there  of  a  cultivated  spot  of  a  few  acres 
—  and  made  inquiries  of  the  "Gentlemen  of  the  Town" 
who  had  accompanied  him,  he  came  to  certain  conclusions 
which  he  thus  set  down  in  his  diary  for  that  day: 

Columbia  is  laid  out  upon  a  large  scale;  but,  in  my  opinion, 
had  better  been  placed  on  the  River  below  the  falls.  —  It  is 
now  an  uncleared  wood,  with  very  few  houses  in  it,  and  those 
all  wooden  ones  —  The  State  House  (which  is  also  of  wood) 
is  a  large  and  commodious  building,  but  unfinished  —  The 
Town  is  on  dry,  but  cannot  be  called  high  ground,  and  though 
surrounded  by  Piney  &  sandy  land  is,  itself,  good  —  The 
State  House  is  near  two  miles  from  the  River,  at  the  con- 
fluence of  the  Broad  River  &  Saluda.  —  From  Granby  the 
River  is  navigable  for  Craft  which  will,  when  the  River  is  a 
little  swelled,  carry  3000  bushels  of  grain  —  when  at  its  usual 
height  less,  and  always  some.  The  River  from  hence  to  the 
Wateree  below  which  it  takes  the  name  of  the  Santee  is  very 

257 


JVashingtoti's  Southern  Tour 

crooked;  l  it  being,  according  to  the  computed  distance  near 
400  miles —  Columbia  from  Charleston  is  130  miles.2 

This  day,  the  President  dined  "in  private"  with  a  few 
gentlemen  —  probably  at  the  home  of  Commodore  Alex- 
ander Gillon.3  At  the  request  of  the  gentlemen  present, 
Commodore  Gillon  delivered  the  following  address  to  the 
President : 

Sir, 

The  citizens  of  Columbia,  Granby,  and  the  vicinity,  offer 
their  professions  of  respect  and  affection  for  your  attentive 
visit. 

Could  the  expression  of  our  sentiments  add  lustre  to  the 

1  At  Buck's  Head  Neck,  near  Fort  Motte,  just  above  the  juncture  of  the 
Congaree  and  Wateree  (which  form  the  Santee),  the  Congaree  makes  a 
sweep  of  eight  miles  and  approaches  itself  to  within  the  distance  of  a 
quarter  of  a  mile.    (B.  J.  L.) 

2  The  town  records  of  Columbia  were  burned  along  with  the  city  during 
Sherman's  occupation.  They  probably  contained  allusions  to  Washing- 
ton's visit,  and  in  particular  some  entry  regarding  the  house  engaged  for 
Washington's  entertainment.  I  have  been  unable  to  ascertain  where  Wash- 
ington lodged  during  his  sojourn  in  Columbia.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  he 
had  his  headquarters  at  Rives's  Tavern. 

3  Alexander  Gillon,  born  in  Rotterdam,  Holland,  in  1741,  lived  for  a 
time  in  England.  In  1765  he  emigrated  to  Charles  Town;  and  there,  July  6, 
1766,  was  married  to  Mary  Splatt,  widow  of  William  Cripps.  In  addition 
to  other  real  estate,  he  owned  a  tract  of  5500  acres  on  the  Congaree  River 
known  as  "Gillon's  Retreat."  He  took  part  in  various  naval  enterprises  in 
the  early  years  of  the  Revolution,  notably  the  capture  of  two  British  vessels 
blocking  the  harbor  of  Charles  Town  in  1778.  He  was  appointed  Commo- 
dore in  the  South  Carolina  navy  early  in  1778.  In  the  Indien,  leased  from 
the  Chevalier  Luxembourg,  and  renamed  the  South  Carolina,  he  made  a 
number  of  valuable  prizes  in  1781.  The  following  year  he  commanded  the 
fleet  of  fifty-nine  vessels  which  captured  the  Bahama  Islands.  He  served 
for  several  terms  as  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  South  Car- 
olina; also  was  chosen  Lieutenant-Governor  in  1783,  but  declined  to  serve. 
He  was  elected  to  Congress  in  1784;  also  served  in  Congress  in  1793-94. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  South  Carolina  Constitutional  Convention.  He 
was  married,  a  second  time,  February  10,  1789,  to  Ann,  daughter  of  Rev. 
Dr.  Purcell,  of  St.  Michael's  Parish,  Charleston.  He  died  at  "Gillon's  Re- 
treat" on  the  Congaree,  October  6,  1794. 

258 


COMMODORE  ALEXANDER  GILLON 


IHE  LIBRARY 
OF  THE 

HHIVtRSITY  Of  lilJNQIS 


Augusta  and  Columbia 

justly  merited  eulogy  of  an  admiring  world  we  would  recount 
with  pleasing  recollection  the  eventful  scenes  of  glory  in 
which  you  have  borne  so  conspicuous  a  part;  but  as  no  idea  of 
gratitude  or  praise  can  transcend  your  merit,  so  has  no  term 
of  approbation  been  omitted  to  express  it;  it  is  then  but  left 
for  us  to  declare,  that  our  hearts  cheerfully  adopt  those  plau- 
dits of  praise  which  have  resounded  from  every  quarter  of 
our  grateful  continent. 

And  since  the  duties  of  your  important  station  call  you 
from  us,  go,  America's  best  friend,  leaving  us  to  implore  our 
eternal  guardian  to  bestow  on  you  every  felicity  he  admits  on 
earth,  and,  when  it  shall  please  him  to  summon  you  from  us, 
that  he  enfold  you,  as  that  which  in  perfection  nearest  ap- 
proached those  selected  by  him,  to  waft  you  to  his  celestial 
abode. 

(Signed)  by  request, 

A.  GlLLON. 

The  President's  reply  is  the  briefest  on  record  for  the 
trip  —  although  doubtless  adequate  to  the  occasion: 

Gentlemen, 

I  am  much  obliged  by  your  professions  of  respect  and  affec- 
tion, and  I  am  truly  grateful  for  your  kind  regard  and  good 
wishes. 

Replying  to  them  with  sincere  acknowledgment,  I  desire  to 
assure  you,  that  I  shall  always  remember  with  pleasure  your 
polite  attentions. 

G.  Washington. 


o 


CHAPTER  X 
THE  SEVENTH  STAGE 

Camden,  South  Carolina,  and  Charlotte,  North  Carolina 
N  the  morning  of  the  25th,  accompanied  by  the 


troop  of  Light  Horse  under  Captain  Kershaw, 
Washington  made  his  customary  early  start  (four  o'clock) 
for  an  unusually  tedious  day's  journey  —  as  the  foundered 
horse  had  to  be  led  slowly  along.  The  following  observa- 
tions Washington  entered  in  his  diary: 

Breakfasted  at  an  indifferent  house  22  miles  from  the 
town,1  (the  first  we  came  to)  and  reached  Camden  about  two 
o'clock,  14  miles  further The  Road  from  Colum- 
bia to  Camden,  excepting  a  mile  or  two  at  each  place,  goes 
over  the  most  miserable  pine  barren  I  ever  saw,  being  quite 
a  white  sand,  &  very  hilly.  —  On  the  Wateree  within  a  mile 
&  half  of  which  the  town  stands  the  lands  are  very  good, — 
they  Culture  Corn,  Tobacco  &  Indigo.  —  Vessels  carrying 
50  or  60  Hhds.  of  Tobo.  come  up  to  the  Ferry  at  this  place  at 
which  there  is  a  Tobacco  Warehouse.2 

At  the  Wateree,  which  was  reached  about  noon,  there 
was  an  exceptionally  large  concourse  of  people  including 
almost  the  entire  population  of  Camden.  Loud  and  long 
were  the  cheers  of  the  multitude ;  and  the  throng  quickly 
joined  Washington's  train  as  it  moved  on  into  Camden.  A 

1  Columbia. 

2  In  his  Journal  (May  6,  1791)  William  Loughton  Smith  describes  Cam- 
den as  "  a  pretty  town  of  about  seventy  houses  and  some  very  good  dwell- 
ings." Writing  to  his  wife  from  Camden  (May  10,  1790)  James  Iredell  says: 
"This  really  is  a  very  pretty  town  —  a  fine,  high,  healthy  situation  —  and 
many  very  handsome  houses  in  it." 

260 


Camden  and  Charlotte 

halt  was  made  at  the  public  square  of  the  town,  the  time 
being  about  two  o'clock;  and  Colonel  Joseph  Kershaw,1 
the  Intendant  of  the  town,  speaking  in  behalf  of  the  local 
committee,  delivered  the  following  address,  which  is  con- 
spicuous for  its  high  tribute  to  Baron  de  Kalb: 

Sir:  Impressed  with  every  sentiment  of  friendship,  esteem 
and  gratitude  which  can  actuate  the  human  heart,  and  amid 
the  congratulations  and  voluntary  homage  of  freemen  and 
fellow-citizens  that  accompany  your  progress  in  the  Southern 
States,  the  citizens  of  Camden  and  its  vicinity,  in  whose 
country  the  ravages  and  distresses  of  war  were  once  as  se- 
verely and  painfully  felt,  as  the  blessings  of  peace  and  good 
government  are  now  gratefully  cherished,  yielding  to  the  uni- 
versal sentiment,  but  more  to  the  impulse  of  our  own  hearts, 
beg  leave  to  express  the  satisfaction  and  happiness  we  feel,  at 
seeing  among  us  our  great  deliverer  —  the  venerated  chief, 
who  heretofore  under  the  standard  of  liberty,  defended  the 
invaded  rights  of  America,  and  led  her  troops  with  success 
through  all  the  doubtful  changes  of  a  perilous  war;  now  our 
first  civil  magistrate,  under  whose  administration  we  forget 
our  dangers  and  perilous  past,  and  rest  in  the  perfect  enjoy- 
ment of  those  invaluable  rights  secured  to  us  by  his  labours. 

1  Joseph  Kershaw,  first  heard  of  in  South  Carolina  as  clerk  in  the  store  of 
James  Laurens  &  Co.,  Charleston  (1756);  removed  to  Pine  Tree  Hill 
(Camden)  about  1758,  as  agent  of  the  commercial  firm  of  Ancrum,  Lance, 
and  Loocock.  Within  a  few  years  he  was  engaged  in  many  industries,  prin- 
cipally flour-milling;  was  leading  man  in  the  district  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
Revolution.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Congress  of  the  Province  of  South 
Carolina,  which  assembled  at  Charleston,  January  11,  1775;  elected  by  the 
Congress  in  June,  1775,  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Continental  Associa- 
tion; member  of  the  first  Legislative  Council,  1776;  served  in  the  Revolu- 
tion with  the  rank  of  colonel,  commanding  the  regiment  of  militia  from 
Camden  District;  built  powder  magazine  for  the  State  in  1777  at  the  cost  of 
£9000;  captured  at  Camden  by  the  British  in  1780,  loaded  with  irons,  and 
later  banished  to  British  Honduras.  He  removed  to  Bermuda,  and  remained 
there  in  exile  for  fifteen  months,  until  exchanged  near  the  end  of  the  war. 
He  was  married  about  1763  to  Sarah  Mathis,  Quakeress.  He  was  regarded 
as  the  "  Father  of  Camden  "  and  a  leading  patriot  of  his  day.  Died  Decem- 
ber 28,  1791. 

26l 


Washington* s  Southern  Tour 

We  congratulate  you,  Sir,  on  your  return  thus  far;  and  we 
hail  your  arrival  in  this  town  with  a  welcome,  though  less 
splendid,  yet  not  less  sincere,  than  what  you  have  anywhere 
received. 

And  now,  Sir,  permit  us  to  bring  to  your  recollection  that 
noble  foreigner,  the  Baron  deKalb,  whose  dust,  with  that  of 
many  other  brave  officers,  is  entombed  on  the  plains  of  Cam- 
den; to  him  we  owe  this  grateful  mention,  who,  despising  ease 
and  inaction,  when  the  liberties  of  his  fellow-creatures  (how- 
ever distant)  were  threatened,  entered  the  lists  in  our  late 
contest,  and  fell  bravely  fighting  for  the  rights  of  mankind. 
May  Almighty  God  long  preserve  a  life  so  beloved,  and 
make  the  future  as  happy  as  the  past  has  been  illustrious;  and 
at  the  close  of  a  life  rendered  thus  illustrious,  may  you  greet 
on  the  happy  shores  of  blissful  immortality,  the  kindred  spir- 
its of  those  heroes  and  patriots,  who  have  in  all  past  ages  been 
distinguished  as  the  guardians  of  liberty  and  the  fathers  of 
their  country. 

Signed  by  order  of  the  inhabitants  of  Camden  and  its 
vicinity: 

Joseph  Kershaw 
John  Chesnut  1 
William  Lang  2 
Isaac  DuBose  3 
Adam  F.  Brisbane  4 
James  Kershaw  5 
Joseph  Brevard  6 
Isaac  Alexander  7 
Samuel  Boykin  8 
D.  Starke.9 

1  John  Chesnut,  son  of  James  Chesnut,  was  born  in  the  Shenandoah 
Valley,  Virginia,  June  i8,  1743.  His  father  and  uncle,  James  and  Benja- 
min, originally  came  from  Ireland,  settling  in  Pennsylvania  in  1688.  After 
his  father's  death,  John  moved  south  with  his  mother  and  family,  finally 
settling  at  Knight's  Mill  near  Camden,  South  Carolina,  then  called  Pine 
Tree.  He  began  as  clerk  in  the  grocery  store  of  Joseph  Kershaw,  and  before 
he  was  twenty-one  he  became  a  member  of  the  firm.  In  1770  he  was 
married  to  Sarah  Cantey,  born  in  the  Wateree,  February  15,  1753.  Entered 
service  in  the  Revolution  as  Paymaster  with  the  rank  of  Captain,  being 

262 


Camden  and  Charlotte 

And  it  is  noteworthy  that,  in  his  reply,  Washington  pays 

attached  to  the  Third  Regiment.  Served  in  South  Carolina  and  Georgia, 
being  present  in  various  engagements.  When  Charleston  was  evacuated, 
he  was  taken  prisoner  and  paroled.  By  order  of  Lord  Rawdon,  he  was  im- 
prisoned and  chained  to  the  floor,  for  refusing  to  fight  his  own  countrymen. 
In  1775  he  was  sent  to  the  First  Provincial  Congress  of  South  Carolina. 
In  1788  he  was  a  member  of  the  convention  of  the  people  to  frame  the 
constitution.  He  was  one  of  the  first  Trustees  of  the  South  Carolina  College, 
founded  in  1802.  He  served  also  as  member  of  the  State  House  and  Senate. 
He  died  in  April,  181 8. 

He  was  described  by  Miss  Harriet  Pinckney  as  "one  of  the  handsomest 
men  of  his  day." 

2  William  Lang,  born  near  Wakefield,  in  Yorkshire,  England,  February 
16,  1746;  emigrated  to  the  colony  of  South  Carolina  in  1770,  settling  at 
Camden;  became  one  of  the  prominent  citizens  of  the  town.  In  1775  he 
was  married  to  Sally  Wyley.  He  was  a  supporter  of  the  American  cause 
during  the  Revolution;  a  member  of  the  commission  for  extending  the 
boundaries  of  Camden  in  1798.   He  died  in  181 5. 

3  Isaac  Dubose  was  the  son  of  John  Dubose,  of  an  old  Huguenot  family, 
who  had  settled,  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  on  Lynches 
River,  in  the  Old  Cheraws;  served  with  distinction  in  the  Revolution  as 
lieutenant  in  the  Second  Regiment  of  Foot,  organized  in  1775;  removed 
from  Chesterfield  County  to  Camden,  shortly  after  the  Revolution;  was 
held  in  high  esteem  by  the  people;  a  member  of  the  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion (1790),  Intendant  of  Camden  (1792),  and  member  of  the  Legislature 
in  1796, 1800,  and  1806.  He  was  twice  married:  to  a  Serree  (or  a  Dutarque), 
and  second,  in  1797,  to  Catherine  Dubose,  of  Camden.  His  daughter, 
Mary,  was  thrice  married,  her  second  husband  being  Richard  Lloyd  Cham- 
pion, son  of  Richard  Champion.   He  died  in  1816. 

4  Adam  Fowler  Brisbane  was  born  in  Charleston  in  1754;  was  married  to 
Mary  Camber,  of  Georgia,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one;  removed  to  Camden 
as  early  as  1780;  member  of  the  Legislature  from  the  Camden  District  in 
1780;  member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  South  Carolina  in  1790; 
first  President  of  the  Camden  Orphan  Society,  1787;  and  appointed  one  of 
the  first  Judges  of  the  County  Court  of  Kershaw  in  1791.  His  residence, 
furnished,  was  placed  at  the  disposal  of  Washington  on  his  visit  to  Camden 
in  1791.  He  died  in  1797. 

6  James  Kershaw,  son  of  Joseph  and  Sarah  (Mathis)  Kershaw,  was  born 
in  1764;  educated  in  England;  was  twice  married:  first  (1798)  to  Sarah  Eng- 
lish, second  (1 813)  to  Mrs.  Lydia  Ann  Vaughan;  leader  in  the  social  life  of 
Camden,  as  evidenced  by  his  diary. 

6  Joseph  Brevard  was  born  in  Iredell  County,  North  Carolina,  July  19, 
1766;  entered  the  Revolutionary  service  as  a  mere  boy.  In  1782,  at  the  age 
of  sixteen,  he  was  commissioned  as  lieutenant  in  the  North  Carolina  line, 
filling  this  position  until  the  end  of  the  war;  settled  in  Camden  immediately 

263 


tVashingtorfs  Southern  Tour 

due  heed  to  the  popular  feeling  —  which  was  his  own  — 
regarding  that  martyr  of  the  Revolution,  DeKalb: 

Gentlemen:  The  acknowledgments,  which  your  respect- 
ful and  affectionate  address  demand,  I  offer  to  you  with  un- 
feigned sincerity.  I  receive  your  congratulations  with  pleas- 
ure, and  estimating  your  welcome  of  me  to  Camden  by  a 
conviction  of  its  cordiality,  I  render  those  thanks  to  your 

after  the  Revolution;  elected  sheriff  of  Camden  District  in  1789;  appointed 
Commissioner  in  Equity  for  Northern  District  of  South  Carolina,  October 
14,  1791.  He  was  married  to  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Colonel  Eli  Kershaw, 
March  17, 1793.  He  became  distinguished  as  a  lawyer.  In  December,  1 801, 
he  was  elected  one  of  the  Judges  of  the  highest  State  Court;  wrote  three  vol- 
umes of  Law  Reports,  also  Digest  of  Statute  Law  to  1814;  resigned  judgeship 
in  December,  1815;  elected  to  Congress  in  181 8,  and  served  one  term.  He 
died  at  Camden,  October  11,  1821. 

7  Isaac  Alexander,  son  of  Abraham  Alexander  of  Charlotte,  North  Caro- 
lina, who  presided  over  the  Mecklenburg  Convention  of  1775;  graduated 
from  Princeton  College  in  1772,  the  classmate  of  James  Madison  and  Aaron 
Burr;  practised  medicine  in  Charlotte  and  served  for  one  year  as  first  presi- 
dent of  Queen's  Museum;  removed  to  Camden,  about  1784,  where  for 
nearly  thirty  years  he  was  a  leading  physician  and  citizen;  served  as  a  sur- 
geon in  the  American  army  during  the  Revolution;  and  attended  Baron  De 
Kalb  in  his  mortal  illness;  Representative  in  the  South  Carolina  Legisla- 
ture in  1786,  was  Intendant  of  Camden  in  1794,  and  one  of  the  first  Trus- 
tees of  the  South  Carolina  College.  He  was  married:  first,  to  Margaret, 
daughter  of  Dr.  William  Brisbane,  of  Charleston;  second,  to  Sarah,  sister  of 
Phineas  Thornton.   He  died  in  1812. 

8  Samuel  Boykin,  son  of  William  Boykin  and  his  wife,  nee  Bryant.  Tall 
and  massive,  he  acted  as  a  leader  in  the  early  "Regulation"  activities  in 
South  Carolina;  served  as  a  delegate  to  the  Provincial  Congress  of  South 
Carolina  in  1775,  and  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Continen- 
tal Association  from  Saxe  Gotha.  At  the  defence  of  Charleston  in  midsum- 
mer, 1775,  he  was  captain  of  a  company  of  Catawba  Indians  in  the  success- 
ful defence  of  Sullivan's  Island.  He  was  active  as  a  partisan  throughout 
the  Revolution  under  Taylor  and  Sumter.  He  was  married  to  Elizabeth 
Brown,  by  whom  he  had  four  children.  He  was  severely  injured  by  some 
ruffian  wagoners,  whom  he,  with  the  aid  of  some  friends,  soon  after  se- 
verely chastised,  and  died  from  the  effects  of  these  injuries  in  December, 

I791- 

9  Douglas  Starke  was  a  planter  by  profession;  served  in  the  Revolution; 
was  present  at  the  fall  of  Charleston  in  1780;  was  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  at 
Camden  in  1787;  was  a  representative  citizen  of  Camden. 

264 


Camden  and  Charlotte 

polite  and  hospitable  attentions  to  which  they  are  so  justly 
entitled. 

Your  grateful  remembrance  of  that  excellent  friend  and 
gallant  officer,  the  Baron  de  Kalb,  does  honor  to  the  goodness 
of  your  hearts;  with  your  regrets  I  mingle  mine  for  his  loss, 
and  to  your  praise  I  join  the  tribute  of  my  esteem  for  his 
memory. 

May  you  largely  participate  the  national  advantages,  and 
may  your  past  sufferings  and  dangers,  endured  and  braved  in 
the  cause  of  freedom,  be  long  contrasted  with  your  future 
safety  and  happiness. 

G.  Washington. 

The  President  was  now  conducted  by  the  reception 
committee  to  the  house  "especially  prepared  for  him," 
which,  if  tradition  be  correct,  was  the  residence  of  Mrs. 
Brisbane.1  The  President  dined  late  "with  a  number  of 
Ladies  &  Gentlemen  at  a  public  dinner,"  he  says;  which 
took  place,  it  is  believed,  at  the  home  of  Colonel  John 
Chesnut.2  In  the  "Chesnut  Family  Chronicle,"  written 
by  Sally  Chesnut  at  the  dictation  of  her  father,  James 
Chesnut,  appears  the  statement:  "In  1791  Washington 
in  making  his  tour  through  the  South  stopped  in  Camden, 
and  was  the  guest  of  Col.  John  Chesnut.  After  returning 
home  he  sent  him  a  plow  accompanied  by  the  following 
letter  .  .  ."  Clearly  the  public  dinner  followed  by  a  recep- 
tion and  ball,  was  held  at  the  house  of  Col.  John  Chesnut. 
Follows  the  letter  above  mentioned : 

1  On  this  site,  near  the  southeast  corner  of  Fair  and  York  Streets,  now 
stands  the  Brasington  house. 

2  This  house,  a  large  frame  building,  is  still  standing  on  the  northwest 
corner  of  King  and  Fair  Streets.  It  is  identified  on  the  testimony  of  Miss 
Mary  Kershaw,  who  told  her  nephew,  Judge  Kershaw,  that  she  had  once 
attended  a  reception  to  General  Washington  in  that  house. 

265 


Washington* s  Southern  Tour 

Mount  Vernon  June  26  1791 
Sir 

In  conformity  to  my  promise,  when  I  saw  you  in  Camden, 
I  have  selected  one  of  my  drill  plows,  which  will  be  sent  to 
Norfolk,  whence  it  will  be  forwarded  to  Charleston,  directed 
to  you,  and  addressed  to  the  care  of  General  Pinckney. 

The  original  intention  of  the  drill  plough,  on  the  principle 
of  that  which  is  sent  to  you,  was  to  plant  the  grain  or  seed  in 
rows,  at  equal  distances  —  the  distance  to  be  determined  by 
the  space  at  which  the  holes  were  made  from  each  other  — 
their  number  for  corn  was  only  four.  But  in  sowing  gran 
and  some  other  kinds  of  grain  in  drills  the  holes  were  in- 
creased to  the  number  now  in  the  barrel. 

The  application  of  this  plough  to  the  planting  of  indigo 
will,  in  my  opinion,  be  productive  of  dispatch,  regularity, 
and  an  abridgment  of  labour. 

The  continuity  in  which  the  indigo  seed  is  sown,  in  the 
same  row,  will  require  an  additional  number  of  holes  —  the 
proportioning  of  which,  and  their  size,  in  order  that  the  seed 
may  issue  in  proper  and  equal  quantity,  may  occasion  some 
waste  at  first  —  but  the  loss  of  seed  in  determining  them  will 
be  no  object,  compared  with  the  advantages,  when  the  just 
size  and  number  of  the  holes  are  ascertained. 

You  will  perceive  that  the  plough  which  is  sent,  is  drawn 
by  a  swingle  tree  —  but  they  may  likewise  be  made  with 
shafts,  the  barrels  may  be  extended  to  six  feet,  or  to  such 
length  as  to  answer  for  any  number  of  rows,  that  may  be 
thought  necessary,  compartitioned  as  to  prevent  an  accumu- 
lation of  the  seed  at  either  end.  You  will  have  occasion  to 
prefix  a  ploughshare  to  each  row  of  holes,  and  proportion 
your  force  of  horses  or  oxen  to  the  draft. 

The  footstock  to  which  the  truck  wheel  is  fixed,  and  which 
may  be  raised  or  depressed,  is  intended  to  regulate  the  depth 
of  the  plough's  insertion  into  the  ground. 

The  band  which  crosses  the  barrel  in  a  certain  direction, 
was  placed,  when  the  grain  was  to  be  deposited  at  equal 
distances,  to  prevent  its  emission  at  more  holes  than  one  — 
in  sowing  the  indigo  seed  it  will  not  be  wanted. 

The  harrow  will  be  proportioned  to  the  plough  or  ploughs, 

266 


ROBERT  FIELD  S   ENGRAVING   OF  WASHINGTON 

After  a  painting  by  Walter  Robertson 


■THE  LIBRARY 

OF  FHE 

B»»v?EMITY  of  (iLlkUtS 


Camden  and  Charlotte 

and  so  constructed  as  effectually  to  cover  the  seed,  without 
adding  more  than  is  unavoidable  to  the  weight. 

I  hope  you  will  sufficiently  comprehend  the  principles  of 
this  plough  to  render  its  adoption  highly  useful  to  the  plant- 
ing interest  of  South  Carolina. 

Should  the  experiment  so  eventuate,  my  agency  therein 
will  be  most  agreeably  rewarded. 
I  am  sir 

Your  most  obedient  servant 

G  Washington  — 

In  a  contemporary  print  it  is  stated  that  the  Chief  Magis- 
trate sought  an  introduction  to  each  of  the  ladies,  and  that 
"every  one  took  delight  in  contemplating  this  dignified 
personage,  whose  presence  inspired  and  animated  every 
social  and  convivial  breast." 1  There  seems  some  reason 
to  believe  that  the  "breasts"  were  more  than  usually 
"convivial"  —  as  the  ladies  withdrew  after  the  third 
toast,  and  the  President  withdrew  about  midnight.  An 
unusually  large  number  of  toasts  —  seventeen  in  all  — 
were  drunk,  as  below;  and  as  an  evidence  of  how  little 
pride  the  people  had  yet  developed  in  the  Confederation, 
it  is  to  be  noted  that  the  words  United  States  have  not 
yet  attained  to  the  dignity  of  capitals  when  printed  in  the 
contemporary  newspapers.  Once  again  lively  gratitude  is 
expressed  to  the  "brave  Baron  de  Kalb";  and  here,  as 
elsewhere  throughout  the  Southern  States,  the  name  of 
Nathanael  Greene  is  seen  to  be  held  in  grateful  remem- 
brance for  his  splendid  military  achievements. 

Follow  the  toasts: 

i.  The  united  states  of  America.    May  they  rival  in  the 

1  Charleston  City  Gazette  and  Daily  Advertiser,  June  6,  1791. 
267 


Washington? 's  Southern  Tour 

arts  and  sciences,  as  they  have  already  equalled  in  arms 
and  excelled  in  the  mild  arts  of  peace  and  government, 
the  polished  and  enlightened  nations  of  Europe. 
1.  The  Congress.   May  wisdom  inspire,  virtue  direct,  and 
unanimity  inform,  their  councils. 

3.  (By  the  President.)  The  Governor  and  state  of  South 
Carolina. 

4.  Louis  the  16th  and  the  French  Nation,  the  noble  and 
generous  allies  of  America.  May  a  true  spirit  of  freedom, 
tempered  with  moderation  and  generous  politeness,  pre- 
vail in  the  constitutional  reform. 

5.  The  Vice-President  of  the  united  states.  May  he  long 
bless  his  country  with  the  ability  and  integrity  that  has 
hitherto  characterized  him. 

6.  The  memory  of  General  Greene.  May  his  name  inspire 
us  with  gratitude  so  long  as  his  military  achievements 
excite  our  applause. 

7.  The  memory  of  the  brave  Baron  deKalb.  May  every 
generous  American  mix  the  tributary  tear  of  grateful  re- 
membrance with  the  dust  that  covers  over  his  grave. 

8.  General  Lincoln.  May  a  generous  country  never  for- 
get his  steady  virtue,  patriotism  and  services. 

9.  The  memory  of  the  brave  martyrs  in  the  cause  of  Ameri- 
can liberty.  May  their  names  ever  be  grateful  to  our 
memories;  and  may  their  fates  animate  posterity  with 
the  love  of  freedom  and  their  country. 

10.  The  brave  seamen  of  America,  who  fought  and  died  in 
the  glorious  cause. 

11.  The  agricultural  and  commercial  interests  of  the  united 
states.  May  they  advance  hand  in  hand,  and  recipro- 
cally support  each  other. 

12.  The  manufactories  of  the  united  states.  May  they  rap- 
idly improve;  and  may  fashion  favor  their  growth. 

13.  The  fair  of  America.  May  wisdom  with  modesty, 
beauty  with  prudence,  and  every  virtuous  attraction, 
always  distinguish  them: 

14.  True  religion,  unmixed  with  hypocricy  and  intoleration; 
but  distinguished  for  charity  and  benevolence. 

268 


Camden  and  Charlotte 

15.  (By  the  President.)  The  town  of  Camden,  and  prosper- 
ity to  it. 

(And,  after  the  President  retired:) 

16.  The  President  of  the  united  states. 

17.  Lady  Washington. 

The  following  morning  (26th),  the  President  rode  on 
horseback  to  the  tomb  of  DeKalb,1  where  he  reverently 
paused  for  a  few  moments  in  respect  for  the  fallen  hero 
(to-day  he  would  have  laid  a  wreath  upon  the  grave) ;  and 
afterwards  made  a  tour  of  inspection  of  the  works  and 
redoubts  erected  by  the  British.2  He  then  resumed  his 
journey,  his  destination  being  Charlotte  in  North  Caro- 
lina. At  the  site  of  the  battle  of  Gum  Swamp,  he  "very 
affectionately  "  bade  adieu  to  his  Camden  friends  who  had 
attended  him  thus  far  upon  his  journey.  In  response  to 
their  urgent  invitation  to  remain  longer  in  their  midst,  he 
explained  that  he  had  already  been  several  days  longer  on 
his  tour  than  he  had  intended  and  that  public  business  de- 
manded his  immediate  return.  His  diary  for  this  day  is  as 
follows : 

After  viewing  the  british  works  about  Camden  I  set  out 
for  Charlotte  —  on  my  way  —  two  miles  from  Town  —  I  ex- 
amined the  ground  on  wen.  Genl.  Greene  &  Lord  Rawdown 
had  their  action.3  —  The  ground  had  but  just  been  taken  by 
the  former  —  was  well  chosen  —  but  he  not  well  established 
in  it  before  he  was  attacked;  which  by  capturing  a  Videt  was, 
in  some  measure  by  surprise  —  Six  miles  further  on  I  came  to 
the  ground  where  Genl.  Gates  &  Lord  Cornwallis  had  their 

1  Now  the  old  Presbyterian  Cemetery. 

2  Compare  Historic  Camden,  by  Kirkland  and  Kennedy  (Columbia,  1905), 
footnote,  pp.  312-13. 

3  On  Hobkirk's  Hill,  April  25,  1781. 

269 


Washington' s  Southern  Tour 

Engagement  wch.  terminated  so  unfavourably  for  the  for- 
mer.1 —  As  this  was  a  night  meeting  of  both  Armies  on  their 
March  &  altogether  unexpected  each  formed  on  the  ground 
they  met  without  any  advantage  in  it  on  either  side  it 
being  level  &  open.  —  Had  Genl.  Gates  been  \  a  mile  fur- 
ther advanced,  an  impenetrable  Swamp  would  have  pre- 
vented the  attack  which  was  made  on  him  by  the  British 
Army,  and  afforded  him  time  to  have  formed  his  own  plans; 
but  having  no  information  of  Lord  Cornwallis's  designs,  and 
perhaps  not  being  apprised  of  this  advantage  it  was  not 
seized  by  him. 

Camden  is  a  small  place  with  appearances  of  some  new 
buildings.  —  It  was  much  injured  by  the  British  whilst  in 
their  possession.2 

After  halting  at  one  Sutton's  14  m.  from  Camden  I  lodged 
at  James  Ingrams  12  miles  father. 

A  memorable  incident  is  associated  with  Washington's 
journey  through  South  Carolina.  At  Camden  was  living 
that  Richard  Champion,  Englishman,  who  in  the  early 
days  of  the  Revolution  had  kept  Robert  Morris,  his  busi- 
ness correspondent,  informed  of  the  actions  of  the  British 
Government.  Champion  was  active  in  local  English 
politics,  and  nominated  Burke  for  Parliament  at  the  fa- 
mous election  in  1774.  In  the  spring  of  1782,  Champion 
was  appointed  by  Burke,  then  paymaster-general,  as  his 
deputy,  a  post  which  he  held  until  the  collapse  of  the  Min- 
istry in  1784.  Champion  started  his  famous  china  factory 

1  On  the  north  side  of  Sanders's  Creek,  August  16, 1780.  The  two  gener- 
als were  approaching  each  other  in  the  night,  along  a  road  filled  with  deep 
sand;  and  neither  of  them  had  any  knowledge  of  the  fact,  until  their  ad- 
vanced guards  came  in  contact.  The  battle  occurred  early  in  the  morning. 
(B.  J.  L.) 

2  Lord  Rawdon,  the  British  commander  there,  alarmed  for  the  safety  of 
his  forts  in  the  lower  country,  set  fire  to  Camden  on  the  10th  of  May,  1781, 
and  retreated  down  the  Santee.   (B.  J.  L.) 

270 


Camden  and  Charlotte 

at  Bristol  in  the  year  of  the  passage  of  the  Stamp  Act. 
The  china  factory  was  not  a  financial  success,  and  was 
abandoned  by  Champion  during  the  Revolution.  In  1784, 
Champion  removed  to  Camden,  South  Carolina,  where  he 
resided  with  his  brother-in-law,  Caleb  Lloyd,  who  had 
been  stamp  distributor. 

During  Washington's  tour  through  South  Carolina, 
Champion  wrote  the  following  letter,  hitherto  unpublished, 
which  accompanied  a  letter,  book,  and  parcel  all  intended 
for  Washington : 

Mr  Champion  presents  his  Compliments  to  Major  Jackson, 
and  requests  the  favour  of  him  to  present  the  Letter,  Book 
and  parcel  which  accompanies  this,  to  the  President.  Mr 
Champion  has  taken  the  Liberty  to  intreat  the  Honour  of  the 
President's  acceptance  of  a  Book,  and  a  Manuscript  enclosed. 
And  he  will  trespass  on  the  Indulgence  of  Major  Jackson  to 
beg  him  to  procure  the  President's  acceptance  of  the  Parcel. 
It  contains  two  Reliefs  in  a  very  fine  Porcelain,  exquisitely 
wrought  round  with  flowers.  The  one  of  Dr  Franklin,  the 
other  taken  from  a  Relief,  (a  good  likeness,  as  he  was  in- 
formed of  the  President  when  young,)  which  Mr  Champion  di- 
rected a  Statuary  to  make.  But  in  the  likeness  Mr  Champion 
finds  himself  disappointed.  He  therefore  merely  presents  it 
as  a  Curiosity,  made  from  a  beautiful  native  Porcelain,  which 
is  to  be  found  in  America.  Mr  Champion  took  a  similar  Lib- 
erty during  the  War,  in  sending  these  Reliefs  to  the  President, 
by  way  of  Paris,  but  he  never  knew  whether  they  arrived  safe. 
These  were  finished,  the  ornaments  having  been  enamelled 
with  gold,  which  he  laments  is  not  the  Case  with  these.  But 
being  two  which  he  had  by  him,  he  brought  them  out 
England  with  him,  and  through  forgetfulness  or  accident 
omitted  it. 

Mr  Champion  begs  Major  Jackson  will  pardon  the  Trouble 
he  has  given  him,  and  will  do  him  the  Honour  to  accept  one 
of  the  Considerations  himself,  which  accompanies  the  other. 

271 


Washington's  Sonthei*n  Tour 

Mr  Champion  meant  to  have  trespassed  further  upon  Ma- 
jor Jackson's  Indulgence  in  requesting  to  know  whether  the 
President  had  a  Levee,  but  he  finds  that  his  stay  will  be 
short,  and  therefore  is  unwilling  to  break  in  upon  the  hour  be- 
fore Dinner,  as  the  President  must  necessarily  be  fatigued, 
but  will  hope  at  that  time  to  have  the  Honour  of  being  pre- 
sented to  him. 

[Endorsed]:  From 
Mr  Champion 
at  Camden.1 

The  plaque,  of  pure  white  porcelain,  referred  to  in  this 
letter,  is  now  in  the  National  Art  Gallery  at  Washington, 
and  is  herewith  reproduced  with  the  courteous  permission 
of  the  owner,  Mr.  W.  G.  Peter.  It  is  thus  described  by 
the  late  Charles  Henry  Hart:  "The  portrait  is  evidently 
after  Peale's  picture  of  1777.  Above  the  medallion  are  the 
emblems  of  the  revolted  colonies,  liberty  cap,  and  rattle- 
snake, crowned  by  a  coronet  with  thirteen  points,  for  the 
thirteen  original  states,  each  point  capped  with  a  star.  Be- 
neath the  emblem  is  the  shield  of  the  Washington  arms, 
and  around  it  the  flags  of  the  Congress  are  festooned. 
When  we  remember  that  this  was  made  in  England  by  an 
Englishman  during  the  heat  of  the  war,  his  daring  and 
friendliness  must  elicit  our  homage  and  our  admiration."2 
Hart  says  that  the  greatest  work  of  Champion's  china 
factory  at  Bristol,  England,  was  "the  tea-service  he  made 
and  presented  to  Mrs.  Burke  in  commemoration  of  her 
husband's  return  as  member  for  Bristol." 

Richard  Champion  was  a  warm  friend  of  the  Colonies, 

1  In  Washington  Papers,  vol.  298,  p.  40055,  Library  of  Congress. 

2  See  "Original  Portraits  of  Washington,"  by  C.  H.  Hart,  Century  Mag- 
azine, vol.  43. 

272 


THE   RICHARD   CHAMPION   PLAQUE  OF  WASHINGTON 
PRESENTED  TO  WASHINGTON  IN   I79I 


OF  THE 

ua'"EMiTif  of  mmois 


Camden  and  Charlotte 

and  a  great  admirer  of  Washington  and  Franklin.  In  a 
remarkable  letter  to  Ralph  Izard  from  Bristol,  July  16, 
1777,  Champion  says :  "May  you  then  —  when  we  cease  to 
be  one  people  —  enjoy  that  happiness,  which  was  formerly 
our  common  lot  —  and  practising  the  Virtues  which  have 
characterized  an  Englishman  —  may  you  continue  the 
race  of  Heroes  to  which  —  well  as  I  love  my  country  —  I 
must  almost  confess  —  England  itself  has  lost  its  claim."  l 
In  the  very  year  of  Washington's  Southern  tour,  Champion 
died  (October  7,  1791).  His  only  granddaughter  was  mar- 
ried to  the  only  son  of  Chancellor  De  Saussure  of  South 
Carolina.  The  "Work,"  which  accompanied  the  letter  and 
plaque  was  Champion's  own  pamphlet  —  probably  the 
pamphlet  on  "America"  issued  in  1784.  The  letter,  hith- 
erto unpublished,  is  herewith  reproduced  in  full: 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States 
Sir 

Although  your  Fellow  Citizens  felt  the  full  force  of  the  in- 
vigorating Hand  which  first  secured  to  them  their  Liberty 
and  their  Peace,  and  which  has  since,  by  its  wise  Administra- 
tion, supported  their  Rank  amidst  the  Nations  of  the  Earth, 
there  still  remained,  amongst  many  of  them,  an  unsatisfied 
Desire,  an  anxious  Wish  to  behold  the  face  of  their  Benefac- 
tor, to  whom,  as  the  first  and  best  Instrument  of  a  merciful 
Providence,  they  are  indebted  for  these  Blessings.  It  was  an 
Event  which  seemed  necessary  to  the  Consummation  of  their 
Happiness.  They  have  now  obtained  the  Gratification  of 
their  Wishes.  For  this  auspicious  Day  has  brought  with  it 
its  full  Accomplishment. 

Amidst  the  Congratulations  which  surround  you  on  this 
happy  occasion,  suffer  me,  Sir,  a  Sharer  in  the  Distress,  a  par- 

1  Correspondence  of  Ralph  Izard.    (Francis  and  Co.  1844.) 
273 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

taker  in  the  Joys  of  my  Country,  to  pay  my  humble  Tribute 
of  affectionate  Duty  and  respectful  Acknowledgment. 

United,  Sir,  to  this  Country  by  Blood,  by  Affinity,  and  by 
an  early  and  zealous  Attachment  to  Liberty,  the  most  active 
Exertions  within  the  Compass  of  my  small  Power  and  Ability, 
and  upon  the  purest  principles,  was  made  by  me  during  the 
War;  in  the  earlier  part  of  it  to  promote  Reconciliation,  in  the 
latter  Stage,  Peace.  It  was  equally  Patriotism  both  in  Eng- 
land and  America  (yet  few  in  England  felt  the  force  of  this 
Duty)  to  oppose  Attempts  alike  tyrannce  [tyrannous]  and 
unjust,  unpolitic  and  absurd,  upon  the  success  or  failure  of 
which  depended  the  Ruin  or  Preservation  of  their  Liberty. 

The  Attempt  failed,  and  the  Sovereignty  of  the  United 
States  was  acknowledged.  This  awful  Separation  of  a  great 
Empire,  whose  united  Efforts  had  equalled  the  most  powerful 
Exertions  of  antient  or  modern  Times,  made  a  deep  Impres- 
sion upon  the  Minds  of  those,  who  conceived  at  least  the  pos- 
sibility of  converting  the  antient  Affection  of  Fellow  Citizens 
into  the  Attachment  of  faithful  Allies.  Under  this  Impression 
a  Work  was  offered  by  me  to  the  Public,  with  a  View  to  point 
out  the  true  Interests  of  a  People,  who  had  too  long  unhappily 
forsaken  them.  But  the  offering  was  fruitless.  Our  Separa- 
tion appeared  to  be  confirmed.  Yet  the  Distance  preserved 
by  Great  Britain  was  not  without  its  Utility  to  this  Country. 
It  demonstrated  to  us,  that  from  her  own  Exertions,  America 
should  derive  her  Strength.  Of  this  Work,  I  beg,  Sir,  the 
Honour  of  your  Acceptance.  I  have  since  published  another, 
which  is  in  some  Measure  a  Continuation,  but  unfortunately 
I  have  no  Copy. 

Many  Years  have  now  elapsed  since  I  became  a  Citizen  of 
this  State.  A  Period,  almost  wholly  spent  in  Retirement  de- 
voted to  literary  Pursuits.  The  Manuscript  which  accompa- 
nies this,  and  of  which  I  likewise  beg,  Sir,  your  Acceptance, 
contains  some  cursory  Reflections  upon  the  Country,  which 
you  now  honour  with  your  Presence.  It  is  a  mere  sketch, 
written  upon  a  temporary  occasion,  never  published  and  is 
intended  for  a  large  work;  of  which  I  have  many  Materials, 
and  which  a  very  perfect  knowledge  of  the  Court  of  Great 

274 


Camden  and  Charlotte 

Britain,  during  the  reign  of  its  present  Monarch,  has  afforded 
me. 

Vanity  is  said  to  be,  probably  with  Truth,  the  ruling  Pas- 
sion of  an  Author.  But,  Sir,  Vanity  on  this  Occasion  almost 
ceases  to  be  a  foible.  Affection,  Duty,  Veneration,  and  every 
Incitement  which  can  warm  the  Heart  of  a  Man  in  private 
Life,  at  the  Sight  of  his  Benefactor,  must  operate  in  the  high- 
est and  most  powerful  Degree  at  the  Sight  of  the  Benefactor 
of  Millions.  The  Widow,  Sir,  will  throw  in  her  Mite.  And 
even  the  feeble  Voice  of  an  humble  Individual  will  be  heard, 
when,  amidst  a  whole  People,  he  turns  to  you,  Sir,  who,  under 
Providence,  was  our  greatest  Benefactor;  when  in  imploring 
for  you  all  manner  of  Happiness  and  Prosperity,  and  in 
that  Prayer  is  included  the  Happiness  and  Prosperity  of  the 
United  States,  he  joins  the  universal  Cry  in  saluting  you,  the 
Father  of  your  Country. 

History,  Sir,  is  sparing  of  Characters  in  which  the  Virtues 
of  public  and  of  private  Life,  conspicuously  shewn  in  the  vari- 
ous and  trying  Occasions  which  you  have  experienced,  have 
been  so  fully  proved,  and  so  strikingly  exerted.  You  was 
drawn,  Sir,  from  the  privacy  of  Retirement  by  Nations  who, 
differing  in  Principles  and  discordant  in  manners,  were  unan- 
imous in  their  Call  upon  you.  The  Integrity  of  your  Princi- 
ples, the  Mildness  of  your  Manners,  converted  their  Austerity 
or  their  Licentiousness  into  union  of  Sentiment,  and  Liber- 
ality of  Opinion.  And  when  in  an  unequal  and  unexpected 
Contest,  you  were  devoid  of  every  other  Resource,  than  those 
which  you  drew  from  the  greatness  of  your  Abilities,  the  firm- 
ness of  your  Mind,  unappalled  in  Danger,  and  prepared  for 
Events,  your  Caution  and  Prudence  secured  our  Safety,  your 
Activity  and  Valour  established  our  Independence. 

Yet,  Sir,  whilst  the  Plaudits  of  a  well-earned  Triumph  were 
sounding  in  your  Ears,  you  lost  not  the  Relish  of  Retirement, 
of  those  solid  Satisfactions  which  your  Integrity  and  your  Pa- 
triotism had  so  justly  and  dearly  purchased.  Such  however 
was  the  Situation  of  your  Fellow  Citizens,  that  your  Absence 
from  the  Administration  was  incompatible  with  their  Safety. 
They  were  constrained,  Sir,  to  do  violence  to  their  Feelings,  in 

275 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

requesting  of  you  the  Sacrifice  of  the  sweets  of  Retirement;  in 
which  at  an  advanced  Period  of  Life,  we  can  alone  be  said  to 
live.  But  the  Prosperity  of  your  Country,  the  fate  of  future 
Millions  depended  upon  your  Compliance.  And  you  hesi- 
tated not,  even  at  the  Greatness  of  this  Sacrifice.  You,  Sir, 
cheerfully  obeyed  the  Call  of  your  fellow  Citizens,  and  as- 
sumed the  Administration. 

And  now,  Sir,  tried  as  you  have  been  in  the  most  critical 
Situations — in  Adversity,  whose  rugged  Brow  has  only  served 
to  illustrate  your  Virtues,  in  Prosperity  whose  swelling  sails 
have  not  disturbed  the  Serenity  of  your  Mind,  in  the  Admin- 
istration of  Government,  which  has  proved  a  Source  of  Bless- 
ing to  your  Country,  what  more  have  we  to  ask  of  the  most 
high  God,  than  a  Continuance  of  the  Happiness  which  we  en- 
joy under  your  Government.  And  that,  when  full  of  Days  and 
full  of  Honour,  it  shall  please  his  Providence  to  remove  you 
into  the  Regions  of  Eternity,  you  may  leave  the  People  of 
these  United  States,  which  first  formed  under  your  Auspices, 
and  now  nurtured  by  your  Care,  are  rising  into  a  great  and 
powerful  Nation,  happy  in  themselves,  and  happy  in  the  Re- 
membrance of  those  Virtues,  to  which  they  owe  these  Bless- 
ings. In  the  Remembrance  of  those  Actions  which  will  be 
faithfully  recorded  by  Posterity,  for  the  Benefit  and  In- 
struction of  the  future  Ages  of  the  World.  It  is  for  them,  Sir, 
that  your  Labours  have  been  employed,  and  by  them  your 
Actions  will  be  approved. 

I  have  the  Honour  to  be  with  every  grateful  Sentiment  of 
Esteem,  Respect,  and  Attachment, 

Sir 
Your  much  obliged,  faithful, 
and  most  obedient  Servant 
Richard  Champion 
Rocky  Branch 
May  24th  1 79 1 
[Edorsed  in  G.  W.'s  hand:] 

From 
Richd  Champion  Esqr  24th  May  17911 

1  Letters  to  Washington,  Library  of  Congress.  It  may  be  that  the 
"work"  which  Champion  presented  to  Washington  along  with  this  letter 

276 


Camden  and  Charlotte 

Washington's  diary  for  Friday  (27th)  is  as  follows: 

Left  Ingrams  about  4  o'clock,  and  breakfasting  at  one 
Barr's  18  miles  distant  lodged  at  Majr.  Crawford's  8  miles 
farther  —  About  2  miles  from  this  place  I  came  to  the  Corner 
where  the  No.  Carolina  line  comes  to  the  Rd.  —  from  whence 
the  Road  is  the  boundary  for  12  miles  more.  —  At  Majr. 
Crawford's  I  was  met  by  some  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Catawba 
nation  who  seemed  to  be  under  apprehension  that  some  at- 
tempts were  making,  or  would  be  made  to  deprive  them  of 
part  of  the  40,000  Acres  wch.  was  secured  to  them  by  Treaty 
and  wch.  is  bounded  by  this  Road.1 

The  following  brief  comment  on  the  land  through 
which  Washington  passed  appears  in  the  diary  for  Satur- 
day, 28th: 

It  was  not,  until  I  had  got  near  Barrs  that  I  had  quit  the 
Piney  &  Sandy  lands  —  nor  until  I  had  got  to  Crawfords 
before  the  lands  took  quite  a  different  complexion  —  here 
they  began  to  assume  a  very  rich  look. 

At  the  boundary  line,  Washington  was  met  by  a  party 
of    the  Mecklenburg    Horse  —  but,   says    Washington, 

was  his  Comparative  Reflections  on  the  past  and  present  Political,  Commer- 
cial and  Civil  State  of  Great  Britain,  with  some  Thoughts  concerning  Emigra- 
tion, published  anonymously  on  the  eve  of  his  departure  for  America  in 
1784.  A  second  edition,  published  in  1787,  bore  Champion's  name  as  au- 
thor. Compare  Historic  Camden,  by  Kirkland  and  Kennedy  (Columbia, 
S.C.,  1905),  pp.  362-66. 

1  The  Catawba  (Kadapau)  were  found  living  about  where  we  have  al- 
ways known  them  as  early  as  1567.  The  small  remnant  may  still  be  found 
on  Catawba  River,  about  on  the  border  of  North  Carolina  and  South  Caro- 
lina. Save  for  their  alliance  with  the  hostil  Yamasi  in  171 5,  they  were  uni- 
formly friendly  to  the  English  and  afterwards  to  their  successors,  the  Amer- 
icans. Through  warfare  with  other  Indian  tribes  and  through  disease  which 
was  prevalent  among  them,  they  were  reduced  by  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century  to  but  a  pitiful  remnant.  In  1763  they  had  confirmed  to  them  a 
reservation  of  fifteen  miles  square,  on  both  sides  of  the  Catawba  River, 
within  the  present  York  and  Lancaster  Counties,  South  Carolina.  Consult 
The  Siouan  Tribes  of  the  West,  by  James  Mooney;  and  Indians  of  North 
Carolina  (Washington,  191 5). 

277 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

"these  being  near  their  homes,  I  dismissed  them."  More- 
over, according  to  the  account  of  Dr.  Charles  Caldwell,1 
an  incident  which  Washington  mentions  in  his  diary, 
he  was  met  at  the  boundary  line  between  North 
and  South  Carolina  by  thirteen  young  men  from  the 
Salisbury  Military  Company,  one  to  represent  each  of  the 
original  thirteen  colonies.  Caldwell's  is  the  fullest  account 
extant  of  personal  incidents  connected  with  Washington's 
time,  other  than  Washington's  diary;  and  is  given  below 
in  full.  Caldwell,  who  was  vain  and  eccentric,  evidently 
regarded  the  whole  occasion  as  one  deserving  elaborate 
description ;  and  in  spite  of  the  egoism  displayed,  the  re- 
cital has  a  peculiar  interest: 

One  reminiscence  more,  connected  with  Salisbury,  shall 
close  the  history  of  myself  in  the  South;  at  least,  in  that  par- 
ticular part  of  the  South.  It  was  during  my  residence  in  that 
place,  that  I  had  first  an  opportunity  of  seeing  and  approach- 
ing the  person  of  General  Washington,  and  the  gratification 
of  being  noticed  by  him.  The  circumstances  of  the  case  were 
as  follows :  — 

Some  years  after  his  first  election  to  the  chief  magistracy 

1  Charles  Caldwell,  according  to  his  own  statement,  was  born  "in  Orange, 
now  Caldwell  County,  on  Moon's  Creek,  a  small  branch  of  Dan  River, 
about  twenty  miles  south  of  the  southern  border  of  Virginia,"  on  May  14, 
1772.  While  still  a  young  man,  Caldwell  was  appointed  Professor  of  Natu- 
ral History  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  About  18 19  he  removed  to 
the  West  and  became  head  of  the  medical  department  of  Transylvania  Uni- 
versity, Lexington,  Kentucky.  Later  (1837)  he  founded  the  Louisville 
Medical  Institute,  in  which  he  occupied  the  chairs  of  the  Institutes  of  Med- 
icine, Medical  Jurisprudence,  and  Chemical  Medicine.  A  man  of  distinc- 
tion, though  strangely  eccentric  and  vain,  Caldwell  was  widely  acquainted 
with  eminent  scientists  and  distinguished  public  characters  in  England  and 
Europe  as  well  as  in  the  United  States.  He  died  in  Louisville,  Kentucky,  on 
July  9, 1853.  At  the  time  he  wrote,  he  claimed  that  his  autobiography  cov- 
ered the  longest  period  of  time  (almost  eighty  years)  ever  covered  by  any 
autobiography. 

278 


Camden  and  Charlotte 

of  the  Union,  the  General  made  the  tour  of  the  Southern 
States;  to  all  of  which,  Virginia  excepted,  he  was  personally 
a  stranger.  In  his  journey  to  the  South,  he  travelled  by  the 
eastern  and  low-country  route;  but,  on  his  return,  journeying 
in  North  Carolina,  by  the  western  and  hill-country  route,  he 
passed  through  Salisbury. 

On  learning  that  such  was  the  course  he  purposed  to  pursue, 
the  youth  of  note  in  the  place,  high-toned  in  feelings  of  State 
pride  and  patriotism,  and  not  disinclined  to  military  pomp 
and  show  (I  being  one  of  them),  met  in  a  body,  as  if  by  an  in- 
stinctive impulse,  on  the  call  of  another  young  man  and  my- 
self, organized  themselves  into  a  company  of  light  dragoons, 
and  elected,  as  their  captain,  a  gallant  and  gentlemanly  offi- 
cer, and  a  splendid  swordsman,  who,  in  our  revolutionary 
war,  had  distinguished  himself  as  standard-bearer  in  one  of 
the  corps  of  Lee's  legion  of  horse.  The  leading  and  most 
highly  prized  object  of  the  company  was  to  meet  General 
Washington,  at  the  confines  of  South  and  North  Carolina 
and  escort  him,  as  a  guard  of  honor,  through  about  two- 
thirds,  breadth,  of  the  latter  State. 

When  our  company  was  organized  and  fully  equipped,  we 
rode  as  fine  and  richly  caparisoned  horses,  wore  as  costly  and 
splendid  uniforms,  and  made  as  brilliant  an  appearance  as 
any  cavalry  company  of  the  same  size  (fifty-five,  officers  and 
privates),  which  the  General  had  ever  reviewed.  Of  this  fact 
(no  doubt  the  most  highly-prized  one  that  could  have  been 
communicated  to  us)  we  were  kindly  and  courteously  assured 
by  himself.  My  rank  in  the  company  was  that  of  a  standard- 
bearer. 

Instead  of  the  whole  command  proceeding  in  a  body  to 
meet  the  President  (such  was  Washington  at  the  time),  a  de- 
tachment of  thirteen  privates  (one  for  each  State)  was  dis- 
patched to  meet  him  at  the  southern  boundary  of  North 
Carolina  (a  distance  of  about  seventy  or  eighty  miles),  wel- 
come him  to  the  State  by  a  salutatory  address,  and  escort  him 
to  within  about  fifteen  miles  of  Salisbury,  where  the  whole 
company  was  encamped  to  receive  him. 

Of  this  detachment,  chosen  by  lot  (for  no  private  was  will- 

279 


Washington *s  Southern  Tour 

ing  to  yield  to  another  the  eagerly-sought  honor  and  gratifi- 
cation of  belonging  to  it),  I  was,  with  the  highly-prized  ap- 
probation of  my  comrades,  appointed  to  the  command.  And 
never  was  man  more  proud  of  an  appointment.  I  would  not 
have  exchanged  my  post  for  that  of  Governor  of  the  Com- 
monwealth. I  was  to  receive  the  President,  at  the  head  of  my 
escort,  and  deliver  to  him,  in  person,  the  intended  address  of 
welcome  into  my  native  State.  And  my  supposed  fitness  for 
a  very  creditable  discharge  of  that  duty  (for,  as  heretofore 
mentioned,  I  was  accounted  an  excellent  speaker),  had  con- 
tributed not  a  little  toward  my  appointment  to  the  office. 

In  a  short  time  my  address  was  mentally  composed,  and 
committed,  not  indeed  to  paper,  but  to  my  memory;  and  I 
often  repeated  it,  silently,  when  in  company,  but  audibly, 
when  alone;  thinking  of  but  little  else,  either  by  day  or  by 
night,  except;  the  strict  discipline  and  soldier-like  appear- 
ance of  my  little  band. 

At  length,  flushed  with  high  spirits  and  bounding  hearts, 
we  were  in  full  march  toward  the  boundary  line  of  the  State. 

From  the  time  of  our  advance  within  ten  miles  of  the  place 
of  our  destination,  I  kept,  in  my  front,  three  videttes,  distant 
a  mile  from  each  other  —  the  nearest  of  them  being  a  mile 
from  the  head  of  my  little  column  —  to  convey  to  me  half- 
hourly  intelligence  respecting  the  approach  of  the  President, 
who  was  understood  to  travel  alternately  in  his  carriage  and 
on  horseback.  At  length  one  of  my  look-outs  returned,  at 
full  speed,  with  information  that  a  travelling  carriage  had 
been  seen  by  him,  and  was  then  about  a  mile  and  a  half  in  his 
rear.  Instantly,  everything  was  in  complete  preparation  for 
the  coming  event.  Had  an  enemy  been  advancing  on  us,  or 
we  on  him,  our  excitement  could  not  have  been  more  intense. 
Our  column  was  compact,  our  steeds  reined  up  to  their  mettle, 
but  held  in  check;  each  man,  his  cap  and  plume  duly  ad- 
justed, seated  firmly  and  horseman-like  in  his  saddle,  and  our 
swords  drawn  and  in  rest,  the  sheen  of  their  blades  as  bright 
and  dazzling  as  the  beams  of  a  southern  sun  could  render  it. 

In  this  order  we  advanced  slowly,  until  a  light  coach  made 
its  appearance  in  our  front,  and  became  the  object  of  every 

280 


Camden  and  Charlotte 

eye  of  our  party.  The  day  being  warm,  the  windows  of  it 
were  open,  and  my  first  glance  into  its  interior  plainly  told 
me  that  Washington  was  not  there.  But  his  secretary  was; 
and  he  informed  me  that  the  General  was  on  horseback,  a 
short  distance  in  his  rear.  Proceeding  onward,  the  movement 
of  a  few  minutes  brought  us  in  full  view  of  Washington,  on 
the  summit  of  a  hill,  seated  on  a  magnificent  milk-white 
charger,  a  present  to  him  by  Frederick  of  Prussia,  near  the 
close  of  the  revolutionary  war.  Nor  is  it  deemed  an  inadmis- 
sible deviation  from  my  narrative  to  add  that  that  present 
was  accompanied  by  another,  from  the  same  royal  personage, 
still  more  highly  complimentary  and  honorary  —  an  exqui- 
sitely finished  and  richly  ornamented  dress-sword,  inscribed, 
in  gold  letters,  "From  the  oldest  to  the  greatest  general  of  the 
age."  When  a  courtier,  of  supple  knee  and  oily  tongue,  ven- 
tured to  differ  from  Frederick  in  relation  to  the  sentiment 
expressed  by  this  inscription,  and  even  presumed  virtually  to 
contradict  him,  by  saying:  "Sire,  permit  your  subject  to  be- 
lieve that  you  are  yourself  the  greatest  general  of  the  age;" 
the  monarch  replied:  "No,  I  am  not;  Washington  surpasses 
me.  I  conquered  with  means;  he  has  conquered  without 
them." 

The  circumstances  of  my  first  view  of  the  great  American 
were  as  well  calculated  to  render  the  sight  imposing,  not  to 
say  romantically  picturesque  and  impressive,  as  any  that  the 
most  inventive  and  apt  imagination  could  have  devised.  The 
day  (the  hour  being  about  n  a.  m.)  was  uncommonly  bril- 
liant and  beautiful,  even  as  the  product  of  a  southern  climate. 
The  sky  was  slightly  azure,  its  arch  unusually  lofty  and  ex- 
panded, and  not  a  cloud  interposed  to  detract  from  its  radi- 
ance. I  was  ascending  a  hill  of  sufficient  elevation  to  shorten 
materially  the  distance  to  the  horizon,  which  rested  on  its 
top;  and  the  road  leading  up  it  was  lined,  on  each  side,  by  an- 
cient forest-trees,  in  their  rich  apparel  of  summer  foliage. 

In  the  midst  of  this  landscape,  already  abundantly  attrac- 
tive and  exciting,  just  as  I  had  advanced  about  half-way  up 
the  hill,  the  President  turned  its  summit,  and  began  to  de- 
scend. The  steps  of  his  charger  were  measured  and  proud,  as 

281 


TVashi?igtori*s  Southern  Tour 

if  the  noble  animal  was  conscious  of  the  character  and  stand- 
ing of  his  rider.  On  the  bright  canvas  of  the  heavens  behind 
them,  the  horseman  and  horse  formed  a  superb  and  glorious 
picture.  As  the  figure  advanced,  in  the  symmetry  and  grace 
of  an  equestrian  statue  of  the  highest  order,  it  reminded  me 
of  Brahma's  descent  from  the  skies.  True,  the  charger  did 
not,  in  his  pride  and  buoyancy,  "paw  the  bright  clouds,  and 
gallop  in  the  storm;"  but  he  trod  with  unusual  majesty  on 
the  face  of  the  hill. 

As  I  approached  the  President,  an  awe  came  over  me,  such 
as  I  had  never  before  experienced.  And  its  effect  on  me  was 
as  deeply  mortifying,  as  it  was  unprecedented.  Never  had  I 
previously  quailed  before  anything  earthly.  But  I  was  now 
unmanned.  Not  only  did  I  forget  my  oft-repeated  address, 
but  I  became  positively  unable  to  articulate  a  word.  My  im- 
agination had  placed  me,  if  not  in  the  immediate  presence  of  a 
god  of  its  own  creating,  in  that  of  a  man  so  far  above  the  rank 
of  ordinary  mortals,  as  to  be  approximated  to  that  of  the 
gods  of  fable.  Having  advanced,  therefore,  to  within  a  be- 
coming distance  from  him,  I  received  him,  in  silence,  with  the 
salute  of  my  sword.  I  could  do  no  more;  I  became  actually 
giddy;  for  an  instant  my  vision  grew  indistinct;  and,  though 
unsurpassed  as  a  rider,  I  felt  unsteady  in  my  seat,  and  almost 
ready  to  fall  from  my  horse,  under  the  shock  of  my  failure,  a 
shock  trebly  strengthened  and  embittered  by  its  occurrence 
at  the  head  of  the  band  I  commanded,  and  under  the  eye 
of  the  man  I  almost  adored.  My  employment  of  the  term 
"adored"  is  neither  unpremeditated  nor  inadvertent.  It  is 
deliberate  and  earnest.  For,  were  alleged  in  disfavor  of  me, 
that  I  actually  idolized  the  illustrious  personage  then  before 
me,  I  could  hardly  appeal  to  my  conscience  for  the  incorrect- 
ness of  the  charge. 

Quick  to  perceive  my  embarrassment,  and  equally  inclined 
and  prompt  to  relieve  it,  Washington  returned  my  salute 
with  marked  courtesy,  and,  speaking  kindly,  paused  for  a 
moment,  and  then  desired  that  we  might  proceed,  I  riding 
abreast  of  him,  on  his  left,  and  the  privates  of  my  escort  fall- 
ing in  double  file  into  the  rear.  This  opportune  measure  set 

282 


Camden  and  Charlotte 

me  more  at  my  ease;  but  still  I  did  not  venture  to  open  my 
lips,  until  my  silence  rendered  me  seriously  apprehensive  that 
the  President  would  deem  me  wholly  incompetent  to  the  com- 
plimentary duty  on  which  I  had  been  dispatched.  And  that 
thought  produced  in  me  a  fresh  embitterment.  But  many 
minutes  had  not  elapsed  when  my  condition  and  prospects 
began  to  brighten. 

Fortunately,  I  possessed  an  intimate  and  accurate  acquaint- 
ance with  the  people  and  localities  of  the  tract  of  country 
through  which  we  were  to  journey,  as  well  as  with  its  gen- 
eral and  special  history,  both  remote  and  recent.  And  it  had 
been  the  theatre  of  several  memorable  enterprises  and  scenes 
of  battle  and  blood,  during  the  revolutionary  war.  Most  of 
the  conflicts  had  occurred  between  Whigs  and  Tories;  but 
some  of  them  between  the  troops  under  General  Greene  and 
Lord  Cornwallis.  And  respecting  each  and  all  of  them,  I  had 
learned  so  much  from  my  revolutionary  father  and  brothers, 
who  had  been  engaged  in  several  of  them,  that  my  familiarity 
with  them  was  almost  as  minute  and  vivid  as  if  I  had  been  an 
actor  in  them  myself.  But,  before  speaking  of  them,  I  held 
it  to  be  a  duty,  which  I  owed  to  myself,  to  apprise  General 
Washington  of  the  cause  of  my  failure,  on  first  approaching 
him,  to  tender  to  him  the  salutation  to  which  he  was  entitled, 
and  which  I  had  intended. 

As  soon,  therefore,  as  I  had  recovered  the  complete  com- 
mand of  my  mind  and  my  tongue,  I  frankly,  and,  now,  with 
no  lack  of  readiness  and  fluency,  communicated  to  him  the 
cause  of  my  previous  silence.  I  told  him  that  I  had  been  dis- 
patched by  my  commanding  officer,  with  the  escort  which  I 
led,  to  meet  and  salute  him,  with  a  becoming  welcome,  to  the 
State  of  my  nativity.  My  mortifying  failure  to  discharge  that 
duty  I  entreated  him  to  attribute  to  the  deep  and  irresistible 
embarrassment  I  had  experienced  on  my  first  approach  to  him. 
This  explanation  was  closed  by  an  assurance,  under  a  man- 
ifestation of  feeling  which  must  have  been  obvious  to  him, 
that  his  presence  had  for  a  short  time  so  completely  overawed 
me,  as  to  deprive  me  entirely  of  the  power  of  utterance;  and 
that  it  had  been  hence  impossible  for  me  to  greet  him  with 

283 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

any  other  salutation  than  that  of  my  sword;  which,  I  added 
(perhaps  too  ostentatiously,  and,  therefore,  improperly),  I 
would  have  been  proud  to  have  wielded,  under  his  command, 
in  the  late  war,  had  I  not  been  too  young. 

Giving  me  a  look,  if  not  of  approval,  certainly  of  neither 
dissatisfaction  nor  rebuke  — 

"Pray,  sir,"  said  he,  "have  you  lived  long  in  this  part  of 
the  country?" 

"Ever  since  my  childhood,  sir." 

"You  are  then,  I  presume,  pretty  well  acquainted  with  it." 

"Perfectly,  sir;  I  am  familiar  with  every  hill,  and  stream, 
and  celebrated  spot  it  contains." 

"  During  the  late  war,  if  my  information  be  correct,  the  in- 
habitants were  true  to  the  cause  of  their  country,  and  brave 
in  its  defence." 

"Your  information  is  correct,  sir.  They  were,  almost  to  a 
man,  true-hearted  Whigs  and  patriots,  and  as  gallant  soldiers 
as  ever  drew  swords  or  pointed  rifles  in  behalf  of  freedom. 
In  Mecklenburg  County,  where  we  now  are,  and  in  Rowan, 
which  lies  before  us,  a  Tory  did  not  dare  to  show  his  face  —  if 
he  were  known  to  be  a  Tory.  It  was  in  a  small  town,  through 
which  we  shall  pass,  that  Lord  Cornwallis  lay  encamped, 
when  he  swore  that  he  had  never  before  been  in  such  a  d-n-d 
nest  of  Whigs  —  for  that  he  could  not,  in  the  surrounding 
country,  procure  a  chicken  or  a  pig  for  his  table,  or  a  gallon  of 
oats  for  his  horse,  but  by  purchasing  it  with  the  blood  of  his 
soldiers,  who  went  in  quest  of  it." 

"Pray,  what  is  the  name  of  that  town?" 

"Charlotte,  sir,  the  county  town  of  Mecklenburg,  and  the 
place  where  independence  was  declared  about  a  year  before 
its  declaration  by  Congress;  and  my  father  was  one  of  the 
Whigs  who  were  concerned  in  the  glorious  transaction.  We 
shall  arrive  at  Charlotte  to-morrow  morning,"  I  continued, 
"where  you  will  be  enthusiastically  received,  by  five  hundred 
at  least  —  perhaps  twice  the  number,  of  the  most  respectable 
inhabitants  of  the  country;  a  large  portion  of  whom  served,  in 
some  capacity,  in  the  revolutionary  war  —  several  of  them, 
I  believe,  as  officers  and  privates,  under  your  own  command. 

284 


~1 


george  w.  rrox  I 


ENGRAVING   BY   BARTHE1.EMY  JOSEPH   FULEVAN   ROGER 

After  the  medallion  painted  by  the  Marquise  de  Brehan  in 
New  York,  1789 


,nt   IIBHARY 
OF  THE 


Camden  and  Charlotte 

When  I  passed  through  the  town  yesterday  morning,  a  large 
number  of  them  had  already  assembled,  and  the  crowd  was 
rapidly  increasing.  And  they  are  exceedingly  provident.  Con- 
vinced that  they  cannot  all  be  supplied  in  the  town,  with 
either  food  or  lodging,  many  of  them  have  brought  with  them 
large  and  well-covered  farm-wagons,  for  their  bed-chambers, 
and  enough  of  substantial  food,  already  cooked,  for  a  week's 
subsistence.  Others  again  have  already  erected,  and  are  still 
erecting,  for  their  temporary  residence,  in  the  midst  of  a 
beautiful  and  celebrated  grove  (where  a  victory  was  gained, 
by  a  company  of  militia  riflemen,  over  a  party  of  Tarleton's 
dragoons),  the  very  tents  under  which  they  slept  as  soldiers, 
in  the  service  of  their  country.  And  they  are  about  as  obsti- 
nate and  noisy  a  set  of  gentlemen  as  I  have  ever  met,  or  ever 
wish  to  meet  again  —  especially  when  in  a  hurry.  I  was 
obliged,  much  against  my  will,  to  hold  a  long  parley  with 
them,  yesterday  morning,  when  I  wished  to  be  in  motion  to 
meet  you,  lest  you  might  anticipate  me  in  reaching  the 
boundary  line  of  the  State." 

The  General  was  evidently  pleased  with  my  narrative,  and 
so  diverted  by  the  increased  freedom  and  ease  of  my  manner 
(for  I  was  now  perfectly  myself),  that  though  he  did  not  actu- 
ally smile  (for  he  very  rarely  smiled),  he  seemed  at  times,  as  I 
fancied,  more  inclined  to  a  little  merriment  than  to  maintain 
unchanged  his  habitually  grave  and  dignified  aspect. 

Reference  was  then  made  to  several  events  of  note,  which 
had  occurred  in  the  southern  revolutionary  war.  And  respect- 
ing one  of  them,  in  particular,  of  great  brilliancy,  and  no  little 
moment,  I  was  astonished  to  find  that  I  was  much  better  in- 
formed than  Washington  himself.  To  such  an  extent  was  this 
true,  that  he  appeared  to  be  even  more  astonished  than  I 
was.  Indeed,  from  some  of  the  expressions  used  by  him,  I 
was  at  first  apprehensive  that  he  was  incredulous  of  my  story. 
This  induced  me  to  speak  with  more  energy  and  positiveness 
than  I  had  previously  employed,  and  to  specify  a  few  of  the 
most  striking  and  memorable  events  of  the  affair.  I  allude  to 
the  battle  at  Ramsauer's  Mill,  in  which  about  three  hundred 
Whigs,  then  fresh  from  their  homes,  and  who  had  never  be- 

285 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

fore  been  in  a  field  of  battle,  attacked  and  defeated,  with 
great  slaughter,  in  a  selected  and  fortified  position,  twelve 
hundred  Tories,  and  made  six  hundred  of  them  prisoners. 

The  reason  why  I  was  better  informed  than  Washington 
respecting  this  gallant  and  sanguinary  action,  is  plain  and 
satisfactory.  It  had  been  fought  in  an  obscure  and  rather 
frontier  situation,  in  the  South,  by  two  bodies  of  militia,  and 
had  never  been  fully  recorded  in  print.  To  Washington,  there- 
fore, no  opportunity  to  read  an  account  of  it  had  been  pre- 
sented; a  formal  dispatch  respecting  it  had  not  been  forwarded 
to  him,  because  it  had  no  immediate  connection  with  the  reg- 
ular army;  and  the  sphere  of  his  operations  being  in  the  North, 
little  or  no  correct  intelligence  in  relation  to  it  had  been  com- 
municated to  him  through  any  other  channel. 

But  very  different  had  been  my  opportunity  to  acquire  in- 
formation with  regard  to  that  action.  With  a  large  number 
of  the  Whigs  engaged  in  it,  my  father  and  brothers  were  ac- 
quainted at  the  time;  and  with  not  a  few  of  them  I  myself  be- 
came acquainted,  as  a  youth,  at  a  subsequent  period.  Nor 
was  this  all.  One  of  my  brothers  had  himself  been  deeply 
concerned  in  the  battle,  having  led  into  it  about  sixty  of  the 
most  disciplined  and  expert  riflemen  in  the  country. 

From  my  early  boyhood,  therefore,  I  had  been  familiar  with 
the  details  of  the  "Battle  of  Ramsauer's  Mill,"  having  heard 
them  recited  scores  of  times,  in  the  form  of  a  fireside  and  ex- 
citing story. 

I  need  hardly  remark  that,  by  the  indulgent  attention  with 
which  the  President  honored  my  narratives  and  representa- 
tions, and  the  kind  and  complimentary  replies  he  occasionally 
made  to  me,  I  was  highly  gratified.  He  at  length  inquired 
of  me  whether  he  might  expect  to  meet  at  Charlotte  any  of 
the  leading  members  of  the  convention  which  prepared  and 
passed  the  Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  Independence,  and 
especially  whether  my  father  would  be  there.  I  replied  that 
my  father  was  dead,  and  that  Dr.  Brevard,  the  author  of  the 
Declaration  was  also  dead;  that,  of  the  members  of  the  con- 
vention still  living,  I  knew  personally  but  two  —  Adam  Alex- 
ander, who  had  been  president  of  the  body,  and  John  McKnitt 

286 


Camden  and  Charlotte 

Alexander,  his  brother,  who  had  been  its  Secretary;  that  they 
were  far  advanced  in  life,  and  lived  at  some  distance  from 
Charlotte,  but  that  I  felt  confident  their  ever-green  spirit  of 
patriotism,  united  to  their  strong  desire  to  see  him,  would 
bring  them  there,  should  they  be  able  to  travel. 

On  the  evening  of  that  day,  having  arrived  at  the  head- 
quarters of  the  troop  to  which  I  belonged,  I  surrendered  my 
place  to  my  superiors  in  rank,  and  received  from  Washington, 
in  their  presence,  a  compliment  —  peculiarly  gratifying  to 
me,  as  well  on  account  of  the  manner  of  its  bestowal  as  of 
its  own  import  —  on  what  he  was  pleased  to  pronounce  my 
"honorable  and  exemplary  deportment  as  an  officer,  and  the 
interesting  and  valuable  information  I  had  imparted  to  him 
respecting  the  country  and  its  inhabitants"  through  which  I 
had  escorted  him.1 

On  Saturday,  28th,  Washington  left  Crawford's  at  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  after  travelling  eighteen  miles, 
reached  Harrison's.2  After  a  brief  rest,  Washington  drove 
thirteen  miles  farther;  reaching  Charlotte  before  three 
o'clock.  "  On  this  eventful  Saturday,"  we  are  told, "  crowds 
of  people  on  foot,  on  horseback,  and  the  better  order  of 
peasantry  in  vehicles,  came  to  the  little  village  of  Char- 
lotte to  catch  a  glimpse  of  Washington.  It  was  the  first 
and  only  time  that  many  of  them  had  seen  the  tall  and 
dignified  form  of  the  man  who  will  always  be  marked  as 
the  greatest  American.  The  streets  and  adjoining  roads 
were  lined  with  men,  women  and  children  for  hours  before 
his  arrival,  for  it  was  not  as  a  certainty  known  when  he 

1  Autobiography  of  Charles  Caldwell,  M.D.  With  a  Preface,  Notes,  and 
Appendix,  by  Harriot  W.  Warner.  (Philadelphia:  Lippincott,  Grambo,  and 
Co.,  1855.   Pp.  88-96.) 

2  Harrison's  was  about  three  miles  below  the  present  Pineville.  It  disap- 
peared after  Pineville  built  up. 

287 


Washington* s  Southern  Tour 

would  reach  Charlotte."  x  At  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  it 
would  appear,  Washington  was  met  by  a  group  of  principal 
citizens  of  the  little  hamlet,  headed  by  the  Revolutionary 
soldier  and  patriot,  General  Thomas  Polk.  At  the  open- 
ing of  the  War  of  Independence,  Polk  was  Colonel  of  the 
militia  of  Mecklenburg,  and  even  earlier,  he  had  been 
an  active  leader  in  agitating  for  separation  from  Great 
Britain.  During  the  spring  of  1775,  a  number  of  meetings 
were  held  at  the  academy  in  Charlotte,  known  as  Queen's 
Museum  or  College,  looking  toward  independence.  "Tom 
Polk,"  says  Richard  Cogdell  in  a  letter  (June  18,  1775)  to 
Richard  Caswell,  afterwards  Governor  of  North  Carolina, 
" is  raising  a  pretty  spirit  in  the  back  country"  —  refer- 
ring to  the  passage  of  a  series  of  drastic  resolutions  at  Char- 
lotte, May  31,  1775,  virtually  asserting  independence  of 
Great  Britain  and  setting  up  a  government  in  its  place  for 
the  people  of  Mecklenburg  County.  This  is  believed  by 
many  people  to  have  followed  a  meeting  of  May  20th  pre- 
ceding, at  which  a  declaration  of  independence  was  read. 
Colonel  Thomas  Polk  is  known  to  have  read  some  famous 
declaration  or  series  of  resolutions  —  either  on  May  20th 
or  31st  —  from  the  steps  of  the  court-house  door  in  Char- 
lotte. His  son-in-law,  Ephraim  Brevard,  was  the  secre- 
tary of  the  meeting  which,  on  May  31st,  drafted  the  famous 
resolutions  printed  in  many  contemporary  newspapers.2 
As  Washington,  Polk,  and  party  rode  through  the  streets 

1  "Washington  in  Charlotte,"  by  George  R.  Prowell,  in  Charlotte  Daily 
Observer,  January  9,  1898. 

2  Compare  Archibald  Henderson:  The  Mecklenburg  Declaration  oj  Inde- 
pendence and  the  Revolution  in  North  Carolina  in  IJJ5  (privately  printed, 

288 


Camden  and  Charlotte 

of  the  little  hamlet,1  lined  with  the  sturdy  yeomanry  of 
Mecklenburg,  their  wives,  and  children,  who  greeted  the 
President  with  many  a  hearty  cheer,  they  passed  through 
what  is  now  Independence  Square,  where  stood  the  old 
court-house,  poised  high  above  the  ground  on  six  tall  pil- 
lars. "  From  the  steps  of  the  court  house  over  there,  sir," 
General  Polk  no  doubt  remarked  to  Washington,  "I  had 
the  honor  of  reading  what  we  Mecklenburgers  regard  as 
the  first  overt  assertion  of  freedom  from  British  rule 
promulgated  on  this  continent."  And  he  perhaps  added 
with  a  laugh:  "The  people  were  so  enthusiastic  that  they 
threw  up  their  hats  in  all  directions,  and  some  of  them  fell 
on  the  roof  of  the  court  house." 

The  President's  party  soon  reached  the  handsome  co- 
lonial residence  of  General  Polk,  which  had  been  used  by 
Cornwallis  in  1780  as  headquarters.2  Here  Washington 
found,  as  he  says,  a  "Table  prepared  for  the  purpose,"  — 

1916);  and  "The  Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  Independence,"  in  Missis- 
sippi Valley  Historical  Review,  vol.  v,  no.  2  (September,  191 8).  The  Meck- 
lenburg Resolves  of  May  31,  1775,  were  printed  in  The  North  Carolina 
Gazette  of  June  16,  1775,  a  copy  of  which  was  enclosed  in  the  letter  of  Rich- 
ard Cogdell  mentioned  above. 

1  Washington  in  his  diary  calls  it  a  "trifling  place."  In  1800  it  contained 
only  65  free  persons  and  59  slaves.  In  his  diary  (May  6,  1791),  William 
Lough  ton  Smith,  of  South  Carolina,  says:  "Near  Charlotte  are  some  finely 
cultivated  fields.  This  place  does  not  deserve  the  name  of  a  town,  it  con- 
sists only  of  a  wretched  Court  House,  and  a  few  dwellings  falling  to  decay. 
There  is  a  good  tavern  kept  by  Mason,  where,  however,  I  paid  the  dearest 
bill  on  the  road." 

2  This  house  stood  back  of  the  northeast  corner  of  the  present  Jordan's 
Drug  Store.  On  October  11,  1780,  General  Polk  wrote  as  follows  from 
"Camp,  Yadkin  River,"  to  the  North  Carolina  Board  of  War:  "I  have  the 
pleasure  to  inform  you  that  on  Saturday  last  the  noted  Colonel  Ferguson, 
with  150  men,  fell  on  King's  Mountain;  800  taken  prisoners,  with  150  stand 
of  arms.  Cleveland  and  Campbell  commanded.  Glorious  affair.  In  a  few 
days  doubt  not  we  shall  be  in  Charlotte,  and  I  will  take  possession  of  my 

289 


Washington'* s  Southern  Tour 

evidently  out  in  the  yard,  picnic  style  —  to  which  a  small 
party  invited  by  General  Polk  sat  down  with  Washington, 
Jackson,  and  Polk,  which  probably  included  Adam  Alex- 
ander, John  McKnitt  Alexander,  Robert  Irwin,  Nathaniel 
Alexander,  afterwards  Governor  of  North  Carolina,  Gen- 
eral Joseph  Graham,  and  his  brother,  General  George  Gra- 
ham. Although  no  contemporary  newspaper  containing 
a  description  of  the  visit  to  Charlotte  has  come  to  light, 
it  is  scarcely  to  be  doubted  that,  as  was  the  uniform  cus- 
tom of  the  day,  toasts  were  proposed  and  drunk.  And 
what  more  likely  than  for  Washington,  turning  to  his  hosts, 
to  propose  a  toast  to  "The  new  Prosperity  of  this  Town 
and  Country,  whose  people  were  foremost  in  the  demand 
for  independence  "  ?  Of  one  thing  we  may  be  sure :  that  the 
table  revolved  about  the  events  of  the  Revolution  —  of 
Greene  and  Comwallis,  of  Davie  and  Sumner,  of  the  battle 
of  Charlotte  and  the  affair  at  Mclntire's  farm,  of  King's 
Mountain  and  Ramseur's  Mill  —  local  engagements  and 
battles  in  which  certain  of  the  guests  had  behaved  with 
distinguished  gallantry.  Conversation  turned,  too,  to  the 
subject  of  Queen's  Museum,  the  Fanueil  Hall  of  western 
North  Carolina,  which  Washington  perhaps  visited  — 
for  he  says  in  his  diary  concerning  Charlotte:  "The  Court- 
house of  Mecklenburg  is  held  in  it  —  There  is  a  school 
(called  a  College)  in  it  at  which,  at  times  there  has  been 
50  or  60  boys."  Here  General  Polk's  son-in-law,  Ephraim 

house  and  his  lordship  take  the  woods."  In  his  Men  and  Times  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, Elkanah  Watson  says  of  a  visit  to  Charlotte  in  1785:  "I  carried  letters 
to  the  courteous  General  Polk,  and  remained  two  days  at  his  residence  in 
the  deliphtful  society  of  his  charming  family." 

290 


Camden  and  Charlotte 

Brevard,  who  is  said  to  have  drafted  the  Resolves  of  May 
31st,  had  served  as  a  tutor;  and  here,  a  few  years  before 
Washington's  visit,  that  great  Carolinian,  Andrew  Jack- 
son, acquired  a  smattering  of  learning.  General  Thomas 
Polk  was  a  trustee  of  this  little  college  —  first  as  Queen's 
Museum  and  afterwards  when  its  name  was  changed  to 
Liberty  Hall.1 

After  the  open-air  dinner  at  General  Polk's,  which  was 
followed  by  a  reception,  the  President  and  Major  Jackson 
were  escorted  to  Cook's  Inn,  a  two-story  building  kept 
by  one  Captain  Cook.  "In  those  days,"  said  Dr.  George 
Graham  in  a  lecture  on  the  historic  localities  of  Mecklen- 
burg County,  "gentlemen  wore  their  hair  long,  plaited  in 
a  cue  and  powdered,  and  a  box  of  powder  always  formed  a 
place  in  their  dressing  case.  On  this  occasion  the  President, 
after  making  his  toilet,  neglected  to  replace  the  box  in  his 
valise,  and  it  became  the  property  of  Mrs.  Cook,  who 
amused  herself  with  powdering  the  heads  of  the  girls  and 
young  ladies  who  rushed  to  the  inn  after  the  departure  of 
the  great  hero  to  hear  the  news,  remarking  to  each  one  as 
she  applied  the  puff:  'Now  you  can  always  remember  that 
you  have  had  the  distinction  of  having  your  hair  powdered 
from  General  Washington's  box.'" 2 

1  Consult  "The  Story  of  Queen's  College  or  Liberty  Hall  in  the  Province 
of  North  Carolina,"  by  Marshall  De  Lancey  Haywood  in  North  Carolina 
Booklet  (1912). 

2  Elizabeth  Kennedy,  daughter  of  James  Kennedy,  a  prosperous  mer- 
chant who  lived  where  the  Central  Hotel  was  afterward  located,  was  one  of 
the  party  thus  honored,  and  afterward  related  the  incident.  Cook's  Inn 
was  on  the  site  of  Query's  Store,  which  was  standing  in  1893;  hereon  now 
stands  the  Selwyn  Hotel.  Dr.  Graham's  lecture  was  published  in  the  Char- 
lotte Observer,  December  25,  1893. 

29I 


CHAPTER  XI 
THE  EIGHTH  STAGE 

North  Carolina:  Salisbury  and  Salem 

WASHINGTON'S  punctuality  on  his  long  journey 
through  the  Southern  States,  says  Custis,"  aston- 
ished every  one.  The  trumpet  call  of  the  cavalry  had 
scarcely  ceased  its  echoes  when  a  vidette  would  be  seen 
coming  in  at  full  speed,  and  the  cry  resound  far  and  wide, 
'He's  coming!'  Scarcely  would  the  artillery-men  unlim- 
ber  the  cannon,  when  the  order  would  be  given,  'Light 
your  matches,  the  white  chariot  is  in  full  view!' 

"Revolutionary  veterans  hurried  from  all  directions 
once  more  to  greet  their  beloved  chief.  They  called  it 
marching  to  headquarters;  and  as  the  dear  glorious  old 
fellows  would  overtake  their  neighbors  and  friends,  they 
would  say,  '  Push  on,  my  boys,  if  you  wish  to  see  him ;  for 
we,  who  ought  to  know,  can  assure  you  that  he  is  never 
behind  time,  but  always  punctual  to  the  moment.' 

"It  was  thus  that  Washington  performed  his  memorable 
tour .  .  .  everywhere  received  with  heartfelt  homage  that 
the  love,  veneration,  and  gratitude  of  a  whole  people 
could  bestow;  and  there  is  no  doubt  yet  living  a  gray  head 
who  can  tell  of  the  time  when  he  gallantly  rode  to  some 
village  or  inn  on  the  long-remembered  route  to  hail  the 
arrival  of  the  white  chariot,  and  join  in  the  joyous  wel- 
come to  the  Father  of  his  Country."  1 

1  G.  W.  P.  Custis:  Recollections  and  Private  Memoirs  of  Washington  (New 
York,  i860). 

292 


Salisbury  and  Salem 

On  the  morning  of  the  29th  of  April,  Washington  was 
waited  upon  by  the  Honorable  John  Steele,  Representa- 
tive in  Congress  from  the  Salisbury  District,  who,  as 
Washington  records  in  his  diary,  "was  so  polite  as  to  come 
all  the  way  to  Charlotte  to  meet  me."  Five  years  later  he 
was  appointed  by  Washington  Comptroller  of  the  United 
States  Treasury,  a  post  he  held  under  Washington,  Adams, 
and  Jefferson ;  and  he  was  offered  the  post  of  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  as  successor  to  Oliver  Wolcott,  which  he  de- 
clined. "North  Carolina  has  produced  few  individuals," 
says  David  L.  Swain  in  writing  of  Steele,  "whose  public 
services  offer  more  interesting  topics  for  history  and  biog- 
raphy."1 Steele,  courtly,  handsome,  and  bland,  was  very 
congenial  with  Washington.  Doubtless  their  conversation 
touched  as  much  on  scientific  agriculture — for  Steele  like 
Washington  was  a  farmer  who  used  methods  much  in  ad- 
vance of  the  day  —  as  on  the  political  questions  of  the 
hour.  This  day  was  a  quiet  Sunday — Washington  leaving 
Charlotte  at  seven  o'clock  and  dining  at  "Col.  Smith's  15 
miles  off."  This  was  Colonel,  afterwards  General,  John 
Smith,  who  was  said  to  be  a  captain  in  the  first  regiment 
of  Revolutionary  troops  organized  in  the  colony  of  North 
Carolina.  Here,  "in  this  secluded  and  lonely  spot,  a  daily 
requiem  is  sung  by  the  murmuring  winds  and  carolling 
birds.  .  .  .  On  an  eminence  to  the  right,  after  entering  the 
place,  is  seen  the  family  burying  ground,  filled  and  sur- 
rounded with  a  group  of  trees,  out  of  the  centre  of  which 

1  Consult  Archibald  Henderson:  "John  Steele,"  in  North  Carolina  Book- 
let, vol.  xvin,  nos.  3  and  4  (191 9). 

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rises  two  Lombardy  poplars,  shooting  their  natural  spires 
towards  the  sky."  l  On  this  quiet  Sunday,  Washington  and 
his  party  were  hospitably  received  and  entertained  by 
Colonel  Smith  and  his  wife,  nee  Sarah  Taylor  Alexander. 
Mrs.  Smith,  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  Earl  of  Stirling,  was 
the  widow  of  Colonel  Moses  Alexander,  sometime  head  of 
the  Mecklenburg  militia.2 

Leaving  Colonel  Smith's  on  Sunday  afternoon,  the  Pres- 
ident arrived  in  time  for  supper  at  the  home  of  Major 
Martin  Phifer  (Pfeiffer),3 "  Red  Hill,"  in  Cabarrus  County, 
near  Buffalo  Creek,  three  miles  west  of  the  present  Con- 
cord. The  house  stood  on  a  prominent  eminence  over- 
looking for  many  miles  the  surrounding  country.  Major 
Phifer  was  a  great  hunter,  and  kept  his  table  well  supplied 

1  Consult  "Visit  to  the  Homestead  of  Col.  Moses  Alexander,"  by  Mrs. 
H.  M.  Irwin,  in  The  Southern  Home,  May  7,  1 880.  A  copy  of  this  article  was 
furnished  me  by  Colonel  F.  Brevard  McDowell,  of  Charlotte,  North  Carolina. 

2  In  the  family  burying-ground  of  this  country  estate,  now  known  as  the 
"Morehead  Place,"  in  Cabarrus  County,  lie  buried  Major  Robert  W. 
Smith,  the  General's  only  son,  a  very  wealthy  man,  who  was  painted  by 
Rembrandt  Peale;  William  Lee  Alexander,  son  of  Mrs.  Smith  by  her  first 
marriage,  educated  at  Princeton  and  a  distinguished  lawyer;  and  his  wife, 
Elizabeth,  a  daughter  of  Judge  Richard  Henderson,  famous  jurist-pioneer 
and  President  of  the  Transylvania  Company. 

3  Martin  Phifer  (2),  son  of  Martin  (1)  and  Margaret  (Blackwelder) 
Phifer,  was  born  at  "Coldwater,"  Cabarrus  County,  North  Carolina, 
March  25,  1756.  The  Phifers  were  from  Berne,  Switzerland,  and  of  Ger- 
man origin,  descending  from  the  Knights  of  Pfeiffersburg.  Martin  (1)  and 
John  Phifer,  father  and  uncle  respectively  of  Martin  Phifer  (2),  came  to 
America  in  1739;  and  one  year  later  settled  in  Cabarrus  (now  Mecklenburg) 
County,  North  Carolina.  Martin  (2)  served  with  gallantry  in  the  Revolu- 
tion. He  was  Captain  of  an  "Independent  Company  of  Light  Horse,"  and 
participated  in  various  engagements,  notably  Wright's  Mill  and  German- 
town.  According  to  tradition  he  was  with  Washington  at  Valley  Forge. 
At  one  time  he  commanded  a  regiment  of  North  Carolina  State  Militia, 
with  the  rank  of  colonel.  In  1778  he  was  married  to  Elizabeth  Locke.  He 
died  at  "The  Black  Jacks,"  November  12,  1837. 

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Salisbury  and  Salem 

with  deer  and  other  game.  "He  was  six  feet  in  height,  of 
great  strength  and  vigor.  His  complexion  was  ruddy  and 
bright,  animated  and  inviting.  His  hair  he  always  wore 
brushed  back,  and  in  middle  life,  as  it  was  turning  gray, 
with  his  firm  step,  large  and  well  built  form,  he  was  a  fine 
specimen  of  a  man  — the  handsomest  man  in  all  that  part 
of  the  country.  .  . .  When  Washington  made  his  tour  South, 
he  was  the  private  guest  of  Martin  for  one  night  and  part 
of  the  day.  His  wife,  Elizabeth,  made  great  preparation 
for  the  great  man's  coming,  and  was  sorely  disappointed 
when  she  found  her  distinguished  guest  so  simple  in  his 
diet."  1  Major  Phifer  served  in  the  Revolution,  and  for  a 
time  had  his  headquarters  at  Philadelphia. 

Washington  made  an  unusually  early  start  on  Monday, 
30th  —  "at  4  o'clock  I  was  out  from  Major  Fifers"  — 
being  accompanied  by  General  Steele;  and  after  going 
about  ten  miles  was  met  by  a  party  of  horse  from  Rowan 
County  at  the  dividing  line  between  Mecklenburg  and 
Rowan.  This  was  the  party  to  which,  presumably,  young 
Charles  Caldwell  and  his  twelve  companions  were  at- 
tached; it  consisted  of  fifty-five  in  all,  under  the  command 
of  Captain  John  Beard,  who  had  served  in  the  Revolution. 
As  Washington  and  his  cavalcade  neared  the  home  of 
Richard  Brandon,  Esq.  —  at  what  is  known  as  the  old 
"  Stockton  Place,"  about  six  miles  southwest  of  Salisbury 
—  he  bade  the  cavalcade  stop  and  rode  forward  alone  to 

1  Genealogy  and  History  of  the  Phifer  Family,  by  Charles  H.  Phifer  (Char- 
lotte, 1910).  Mrs.  Phifer,  nee  Elizabeth  Locke,  came  of  a  distinguished 
family  of  noble  descent.  Major  Phifer  was  said  to  be  at  one  time  the  largest 
landowner  in  North  Carolina. 

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Washington's  Southern  Tour 

the  door  of  the  farmhouse.  Somewhat  fatigued  from  his 
early  start  and  exertions  of  the  journey  —  for  Washington 
was  about  sixty  —  and  anticipating  the  ordeal  of  a  long 
public  reception  at  Salisbury,  Washington  determined 
upon  a  little  rest  and  refreshment.  At  the  door,  in  an- 
swer to  his  knock,  appeared  the  rosy-cheeked,  bright-eyed 
Betsy  Brandon  of  some  twelve  summers.  In  reply  to  the 
stranger's  inquiry  if  he  might  have  a  cup  of  coffee  and 
some  light  refreshment,  she  answered  that  there  was  no 
one  at  home. 

"I  am  all  alone,"  explained  little  Betsy,  plaintively. 
"Everybody  has  gone  to  see  General  Washington  but  me. 
And  oh!  I  do  so  wish  I  could  see  him!" 

"Well,"  replied  the  benign-looking  stranger,  who  quickly 
won  little  Betsy's  confidence,  "I  think  we  can  arrange 
that.  Let's  make  a  bargain.  If  you'll  make  me  a  cup  of 
coffee,  I'll  promise  you  a  sight  of  General  Washington." 

The  bargain  was  immediately  closed,  the  cup  of  coffee 
quickly  prepared  by  the  excited  Betsy,  and  even  more 
quickly  drunk  by  the  tired  traveller. 

"Now,"  demanded  Betsy,  eager  in  her  excitement  and 
all  unsuspicious,  "you  must  keep  your  promise  and  show 
me  General  Washington." 

Imagine  her  astonishment,  not  unmixed  with  dismay, 
when  the  mild-mannered  stranger,  with  a  grave  and  genial 
smile,  replied: 

"General  Washington  is  now  before  you."  l 

1  "George  Washington's  Tour  through  North  Carolina,"  by  Archibald 
Henderson,  in  the  Charlotte  Observer,  January  14,  1912. 

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Salisbury  and  Salem 

At  the  county  line,  the  President  and  his  cavalcade 
were  met  by  the  Rowan  Light  Horse  Company,  "  com- 
pletely equipped  and  uniformed,"  under  the  command  of 
Captain  Montfort  Stokes,  the  intimate  friend  of  Andrew 
Jackson.1  About  five  miles  from  Salisbury,  the  Presi- 
dent was  met  by  a  "large  number  of  the  most  respectable 
gentlemen  of  the  town  and  country,"  headed  by  Judge 
Spruce  Macay,  the  Mayor  of  the  Corporation  of  Salisbury, 
and  including,  no  doubt,  such  distinguished  citizens  as  the 
Honorable  Maxwell  Chambers,  Dr.  Charles  Harris,  Cap- 
tain Lewis  Beard,  General  Matthew  Locke,  the  Honor- 
able William  Lee  Alexander,  and  Dr.  Samuel  Eusebius 
McCorkle.  Washington  was  doubtless  impressed  by  the 
striking  resemblance  to  Thomas  Jefferson  of  the  eminent 
Dr.  McCorkle,  graduate  of  Nassau  Hall,  and  head  of  the 
famous  Zion-Parnassus  School  —  delightful  union  of 
Hebraism  and  Hellenism  —  the  first  (1785)  normal  school 
for  teachers  established  in  the  United  States.  In  this 
group  was  the  Mayor's  brother-in-law,  a  young  man  who 
afterward  became  a  great  criminal  lawyer  and  the  friend 
of  John  Marshall,  Archibald  Henderson.  From  this  hour 
dated  his  admiration  amounting  to  adulation  of  Wash- 
ington. He  would  not  permit  other  men  —  "ordinary 
mortals"  —  to  be  classed  in  the  same  category  or  men- 
tioned in  the  same  breath  with  Washington.2  The  Hon- 

1  Montfort  Stokes  was  born  in  Lunenburg  County,  Virginia,  March  12, 
1762;  died  at  Fort  Gibson,  Arkansas,  November  4,  1842.  See  footnote, 
post. 

2  Consult  "A  Federalist  of  the  Old  School,"  in  the  North  Carolina  Book- 
let, vol.  xvii,  nos.  1  and  2  (191 7). 

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Washington's  Southern  Tour 

orable  Spruce  Macay,  the  Mayor  of  the  Corporation,  was 
a  distinguished  jurist,  and  a  famous  teacher  of  the  law. 
Under  him  studied  the  brilliant  partisan  leader,  General 
William  Richardson  Davie,  afterwards  Governor  of  North 
Carolina  and  "father  of  the  University,"  and  the  reck- 
less, hare-brained  son  of  old  Waxhaw,  cock-fighter,  horse- 
racer,  Andrew  Jackson.  Macay  was  married  to  Frances, 
daughter  of  Judge  Richard  Henderson,  in  1785.  He 
travelled  the  western  circuit  which  carried  him  to  the 
outposts  of  civilization  in  Tennessee,  where  he  proved 
a  terror  to  the  horse-stealer  and  other  criminals  of  the 
border. 

"At  the  skirt  of  the  town,"  we  read  in  a  contemporary 
print,  "he  [Washington]  was  saluted  by  about  forty  boys 
in  uniform,  who  had  chosen  officers,  and  arranged  them- 
selves for  that  purpose"  —  each  boy  wearing  in  his  hat  a 
bucktail  as  a  symbol  of  independence.  This  incident  was 
"very  pleasing  to  the  President,"  who  described  it  as  "the 
nicest  thing  he  had  seen."  l  At  the  court-house  he  was 
saluted  by  the  artillery  company  as  he  passed,  and  about 
eight  o'clock  when  it  was  announced  that  he  had  entered 
his  lodgings,  the  brass  six-pound  pieces  were  discharged 
fifteen  times.   A  vast  crowd  from  the  town  and  the  sur- 


1  "Visit  of  General  Washington  to  Salisbury,  N.C.,"  by  Rev.  A.  W.  Man- 
gum,  The  University  Monthly,  vol.  iv,  no.  6  (1884).  Cf.  also  Rev.  Jethro, 
Rumple's  Rowan  County  (1881).  Dr.  Mangum,  afterwards  Professor  of 
Philosophy  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  collected  historical  mate- 
rials concerning  Rowan  County  many  years  before  Dr.  Rumple  began  his 
investigations.  Some  of  these  historical  papers,  written  in  entertaining 
style,  were  published  in  magazines  and  in  newspapers;  others  still  remain  in 
manuscript. 

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rounding  country  for  miles  around  gathered  at  the  court- 
house in  the  public  square  and  gave  him  an  enthusiastic 
greeting  with  fervent  cheers  upon  his  arrival,  as  he  rode 
majestically  on  horseback  through  the  throng;  and  during 
the  course  of  the  day  he  "  frequently  gave  the  people  op- 
portunity of  seeing  him."  He  then  had  breakfast  at  the 
tavern  or  hotel  of  Captain  Edward  Yarborough,  on  East 
Main  Street.1  During  the  forenoon  he  was  "waited  upon 
by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Steele,  the  Hon.  Judge  Macay,  and  Max. 
Chambers,  Esq.  magistrate  of  police,  with  a  number  of 
other  gentlemen,"  who  presented  him  with  the  following 
address: 

Sir, 

We  have  the  honour  to  signify  to  you  the  joy  which  your 
presence,  after  a  tedious  journey,  affords  to  the  inhabitants 
of  this  place.  Words  are  wanting  to  express  the  gratitude  we 
owe  to  heaven  for  continuing  your  life,  on  which  our  national 
glory  and  domestic  tranquility,  even  at  this  day,  seem  sus- 
pended. Situated  at  a  remote  distance  from  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment, deriving  no  advantage  from  the  establishment  of 
post  roads,  and  destitute  of  regular  information,  we  are  some- 
times at  a  loss  to  form  proper  opinions  of  national  measures; 
but  we  nevertheless  boast,  that  we  have  been  and  still  are 
zealously  attached  to  order,  and  effective  government.  And 
having  been  ranked  with  those  who  suffered  in  the  late  war, 
we  pledge  ourselves  to  be  amongst  the  foremost  to  maintain 
and  perpetuate  the  federal  government.    That  your  life, 

1  Edward  Yarborough,  appointed  by  the  North  Carolina  Provincial  Con- 
gress, May  8,  1776,  ensign  in  Captain  Jacob  Turner's  company  of  Foot, 
Third  Regiment,  American  Army;  commissioned  first  lieutenant,  Third 
Regiment,  April  16, 1777;  received  commission  as  captain  on  May  10, 1779; 
completed  his  military  service  on  January  1,  1783;  was  original  member  of 
the  North  Carolina  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  organized  at  Hillsborough, 
with  General  Jethro  Sumner,  of  Warren  County  as  President,  and  the  Rev- 
erend Adam  Boyd,  brigade  chaplain,  of  Wilmington,  as  Secretary. 

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justly  dear  to  the  people  of  this  country,  a  life  precious,  an 
ornament  to  human  nature,  and  a  blessing  to  the  United 
States  of  America,  may  long  be  preserved,  is  the  fervent  and 
unanimous  prayer  of  the  people  of  this  village. 

Spruce  Macay 
Max:  Chambers 
Jn°.  Steele 
M.  Stokes 
Chas.  Harris 
L.  Beard.1 

1  Spruce  Macay,  of  Scotch  ancestry,  was  the  son  of  James  Macay  of  the 
"Jersey  Settlement,"  prominent  citizen,  influential  in  councils  of  Church 
of  England  in  St.  Luke's  Parish,  and  Clerk  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  for 
Rowan  County  during  the  early  years  of  the  Revolution.  Spruce  Macay 
was  educated  at  the  famous  "log  college"  of  Dr.  David  Caldwell.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  Assembly  for  the  Borough  of  Salisbury 
(1784),  and  member  of  the  North  Carolina  Council  of  State  (1781-82-83). 
In  1782  he  was  elected  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  for  Mon- 
gan  District,  and  rode  the  western  circuit.  Elected  Judge  of  the  Superior 
Court  by  the  North  Carolina  Legislature  in  1790,  he  served  in  this  position 
until  his  death  in  1808.  He  was  married  twice:  to  Frances,  sister  of  Archi- 
bald Henderson,  Esq.,  on  May  27,  1785;  and  to  Elizabeth  Haynes,  De- 
cember 30,  1794.  He  was  an  able  jurist,  and  enjoyed  great  popularity 
throughout  the  State.  He  lies  buried  beside  his  first  wife  at  the  Jersey 
Meeting-House,  Rowan  County. 

Maxwell  Chambers,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  was  born  in  1742  and  set- 
tled in  Rowan  County  as  early  as  1764.  He  was  Treasurer  of  the  Commit- 
tee of  Safety  for  Rowan  County  (1775-76).  After  the  Revolution  he  lived 
at  "Spring  Hill,"  near  Salisbury.  He  was  a  leading  merchant  of  the  town, 
a  man  of  wealth,  member  of  the  House  of  Commons  from  Salisbury  (1779, 
1789,  1790),  and  member  for  Rowan  County  in  the  State  Convention  of 
1 789,  which  ratified  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  Lord  Cornwallis 
used  his  house  as  headquarters  in  1781.  "His  life,"  says  General  John 
Steele, "was  a  continued  series  of  virtuous  and  charitable  actions."  He 
died  in  1809. 

John  Steele,  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Maxwell)  Steele,  was  born  in 
Salisbury,  November  16, 1764;  studied  under  the  famous  divine,  Dr.  James 
Hall,  graduate  of  Nassau  Hall,  at  "  Clio's  Nursery."  As  a  lad  he  served  in 
the  Continental  Army.  After  the  Revolution  he  became  a  merchant  and 
planter;  prominent  in  local  affairs,  represented  the  Borough  of  Salisbury  in 
the  State  Conventions  of  1788  and  1789;  member  of  Congress,  1789-93; 
Comptroller  of  the  United  States  Treasury  (1 796-1 802)  under  Washington, 
Adams,  and  Jefferson.    He  was  offered  by  Adams  the  post  of  Secretary  of 

300 


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Salisbury  and  Salem 

In  reply,  the  President  followed  the  formula  which  lie 
used  for  most  occasions  —  advocacy  of  the  good  policy 

the  Treasury,  which  he  declined;  Commissioner  to  treat  with  Indians,  1798; 
Commissioner  on  North  Carolina-South  Carolina  boundary  line  (1805-08; 
1 812—13);  Commissioner  on  North  Carolina-Georgia  boundary  line  (1807); 
member  of  the  North  Carolina  Legislature  1806,  181 1-13,  of  which  he  was 
sometime  Speaker;  elected  for  another  term  on  August  14, 181 5,  the  day  of 
his  death.   He  was  married  to  Mary  Nesfield,  February  9,  1783. 

Montfort  Stokes,  the  son  of  David  and  Sarah  (Montfort)  Stokes,  was 
said  to  descend  from  Simon  de  Montfort.  He  became  a  seaman,  and  even- 
tually served  in  the  United  States  Navy  under  Commodore  Decatur.  Cap- 
tured during  the  War  of  1812,  he  experienced  intense  sufferings  aboard  a 
prison  ship.  For  many  years  he  lived  at  Salisbury,  where  he  was  clerk  of 
the  Superior  Court.  He  was  chosen  principal  clerk  of  the  State  Senate;  and 
later  declined  the  post  of  United  States  Senator,  to  which  office  he  had  been 
elected.  Elected  in  181 5,  he  served  in  the  United  States  Senate  from 
December  4,  1816,  until  March  3,  1823;  member  of  the  State  Senate  in 
1 826,  State  House  of  Representatives  in  1 829-30;  Governor  of  North  Caro- 
lina (1830-31),  resigning  that  office  to  accept  from  his  old  friend,  Andrew 
Jackson,  the  position  of  Indian  Agent  in  Arkansas.  He  superintended  the 
removal  of  the  Indians  west  of  the  Mississippi  River  and  continued  to  re- 
side in  Arkansas  until  his  death. 

Charles  Harris,  son  of  Charles  Harris  and  Elizabeth  Baker,  was  a  noted 
physician  of  his  day.  The  Harris  family,  originally  of  Wiltshire,  England, 
emigrated  to  America  from  Ayrshire,  Scotland,  whither  they  had  removed 
from  Wiltshire,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The  elder 
Charles  Harris  settled  about  1751  at  Rocky  River  in  Anson,  afterwards  Ca- 
barrus, County.  His  son,  Dr.  Charles  Harris,  resided  at "  Favoni "  in  Cabar- 
rus County,  part  of  the  original  Harris  estate.  It  was  here  that  Dr.  Charles 
Harris  conducted  what  was  probably  the  first  medical  school  in  North  Car- 
olina. His  brother  Samuel  was  a  graduate  of  Princeton  (tutor  1788-89),  as 
was  also  his  nephew,  Charles  Wilson  Harris,  who  was  one  of  the  faculty  of 
the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  its  opening  years.  Dr.  Charles  Harris 
was  twice  married  —  first  to  Sara  Harris,  second  to  Lydia  Houston  Bre- 
vard. Although  not  a  resident  of  Salisbury,  he  signed  the  address  to  Wash- 
ington, as  a  leading  man  of  that  section,  who  was  often  in  Salisbury  at  the 
home  of  his  nephew,  Robert  Harris.  Another  strong  reason  for  his  being  a 
signatory  to  this  address  is  that  his  own  half-brother,  Major  Thomas  Har- 
ris, a  valiant  officer  of  the  Continental  Army,  had  fought  under  Washington 
himself  at  Monmouth  and  Trenton.  Consult  "The  Harris  Letters,"  edited 
by  Professor  H.  M.  Wagstaff  {James  Sprunt  Historical  Publications,  vol. 
xiv,  no.  1),  University  of  North  Carolina;  and  Dr.  K.  P.  Battle:  History  of 
the  University  of  North  Carolina. 

Lewis  Beard,  son  of  John  Lewis  Beard,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Salis- 

3OI 


Washington* *s  Southern  Tour 

of  supporting  the  Federal  Government  and  passing  wise 

laws. 

Gentlemen: 

Your  expressions  of  satisfaction  on  my  arrival  in  Salisbury, 
are  received  with  pleasure,  and  thanked  with  sincerity.  The 
interest  which  you  are  pleased  to  take  in  my  personal  welfare, 
excites  a  sensibility  proportioned  to  your  goodness.  While  I 
make  the  most  grateful  acknowledgement  for  that  goodness, 
allow  me  to  observe  that  your  own  determination,  co-operat- 
ing with  that  of  your  fellow-citizens  throughout  the  union, 
to  maintain  and  perpetuate  the  federal  government,  affords 
a  better  assurance  of  order  and  effective  government,  with 
their  concomitants  private  and  public  prosperity,  than  the 
best  meant  endeavors  of  any  individual  could  give.  Our  na- 
tional glory,  and  our  domestic  tranquility,  can  never  be  tar- 
nished or  disturbed,  while  they  are  guarded  by  wise  laws 
founded  in  public  virtue.  Among  the  measures  which  an  en- 
lightened and  patriotic  legislature  will  pursue  to  preserve 
them,  I  doubt  not  the  means  of  diffusing  useful  information 
will  be  duly  considered.  My  best  wishes  for  the  prosperity  of 
your  village,  and  for  your  individual  happiness  are  sincerely 
offered. 

After  these  ceremonies  were  concluded,  the  gentlemen 
of  the  town  conducted  the  President  to  Hughes's  Hotel,1 
where  an  elegant  dinner  was  served.  "On  his  way  to 
dinner  he  passed  through  great  crowds  of  people  who  had 
collected  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  their  illustrious  and 

bury,  was  a  leading  citizen  of  Salisbury.  At  the  cost  of  thirty  thousand  dol- 
lars he  erected  a  magnificent  bridge  over  the  Yadkin.  His  estate  on  the 
Yadkin  was  known  in  after  years  as  the  "Bridge  Place."  He  represented 
the  Borough  of  Salisbury  in  the  House  of  Commons  (1791,  1792),  and  the 
County  of  Rowan  in  the  State  Senate  in  1793.  He  married  Susan,  the 
daughter  of  one  of  Salisbury's  first  settlers,  a  prominent  attorney,  John 
Dunn,  Esq. 

1  This  house,  which  was  to  the  east  of  the  public  square  and  nearly  oppo- 
site the  entrance  of  Meroney's  Hall,  was  standing  in  1881. 

302 


Salisbury  and  Salem 

revered  Chief  Magistrate.  He  bowed  respectfully  to  the 
people  and  passing  the  artillery  company  he  was  again 
saluted  with  a  discharge  of  the  pieces,  followed  by  three 
cheers  —  'Long  live  the  President!  Long  live  the  Presi- 
dent! Long  live  the  President!'"  As  the  President 
passed  through  the  public  square,  a  worthy  old  citizen, 
Richard  Walton,  an  emigrant  from  Great  Britain  who  had 
met  King  George,  approached  the  President  and,  seizing 
his  hand,  earnestly  exclaimed:  "I  have  shaken  hands  with 
one  king  and  you  are  the  second"  —  which  reveals  the 
pitch  of  adulation  to  which  Washington  had  been  elevated 
in  the  public  consciousness. 

At  dinner  it  is  recorded  that  the  President  was  "chear- 
ful"  and  that  he  "appeared  highly  pleased  with  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  upper  country."  In  his  diary  he  records: 
"The  lands  between  Charlotte  &  Salisbury  are  very 
fine,  of  a  reddish  cast  and  well  timbered,  with  but  very 
little  underwood  —  Between  these  two  places  are  the 
first  meadows  I  have  seen  on  the  Road  since  I  left 
Virga.  &  here  also  we  appear  to  be  getting  into  a  Wheat 
Country." 

After  dinner  fifteen  toasts  were  given  —  a  discharge  of 
artillery  accompanying  every  toast : 

i.  The  Government  of  the  United  States. 

i.  The  Governor  and  State  of  North  Carolina.  (By  the 
President.) 

3.  The  constitutional  liberty  of  the  people. 

4.  The  committee  of  Congress  who  reported  the  declara- 
tion of  Independence. 

5.  May  Congress  take  effectual  measures  to  disseminate 
political  knowledge. 

303 


Washington^*  Southern  Tour 

6.  May  Congress  take  early  and  effectual  measures  to  dis- 
seminate political  knowledge. 

7.  May  harmony  subsist  between  federal  and  state  govern- 
ments. 

8.  The  agriculture,  manufactures  and  commerce  of  the 
United  States. 

9.  The  European  powers  in  alliance  with  the  United  States. 

10.  May  the  French  revolution  terminate  favorably  to  lib- 
erty. 

11.  May  the  services  of  General  Greene  be  remembered 
with  gratitude  by  the  people  of  the  southern  states. 

12.  May  reason,  and  not  the  sword,  terminate  all  national 
differences. 

13.  May  the  officers  in  every  department  have  a  sacred  re- 
gard to  national  justice. 

14.  The  friends  of  religion,  morality,  and  useful  knowledge. 
(Here  the  President  retired  —  and  the  next  toast  was) 

15.  George  Washington  —  Long  may  he  live. 

It  was  said  that  the  whole  was  "conducted  with  de- 
corum; and  festivity  and  joy  were  seen  on  every  face." 
At  the  banquet,  many  Colonial  and  Revolutionary  inci- 
dents were  narrated  by  the  gentlemen  of  the  town,  led  by 
that  attractive  Irishman,  Albert  Torrence,1  who  kept  the 
famous  tavern  on  the  Yadkin  which  the  British  denomi- 
nated "Tarrant's." 

We  may  be  sure  that  Washington  was  made  aware  of 
Salisbury's  pride  in  the  great  explorer  and  Indian  fighter, 
Daniel  Boone,  whom  the  organization  known  as  Richard 

1  Albert  Torrence,  born  17^2,  was  of  Irish  birth.  He  settled  in  Rowan 
County  shortly  before  the  Revolution,  building  a  home  on  the  heights,  later 
known  as  "The  Heights  of  Gowerie,"  overlooking  the  Yadkin  River,  on  the 
opposite  side  of  which  was  the  historic  "Jersey  Settlement."  It  was  from 
this  height  that  Cornwallis  cannonaded  the  forces  of  General  Nathanael 
Greene  in  the  latter's  retreat  through  North  Carolina  in  1781.  The  Tor- 
rence home  was  a  centre  of  culture  and  refinement.  Albert  Torrence  died 
in  1825. 

304 


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INSCRIPTION   WRITTEN   BY  NATHANAEL  GREENE  ON   BACK  OF   PICTURE 

OF   KING   GEORGE 


Salisbury  and  Salem 

Henderson  and  Company  had  despatched  on  a  great  tour 
of  exploration  through  Kentucky  in  1769.  The  occupa- 
tion of  the  town  in  succession  by  Lord  Cornwallis  and 
General  Greene  was  no  doubt  vividly  described  to  Wash- 
ington, in  particular  the  incident  of  Greene  in  utter  dejec- 
tion arriving  at  Steel's  Tavern  in  February,  178 1,  and  Mrs. 
Steel's  impulsive  gift  to  him  of  her  savings  for  years,  two 
small  bags  of  specie.  The  President  was  given  the  op- 
portunity to  visit  Steel's  Tavern,  only  a  few  steps  from 
Hughes's  Hotel,  and  to  see  the  picture  of  George  III, 
on  the  back  of  which  Greene,  in  his  delight  over  Mrs. 
Steel's  gift,  wrote  with  a  coal  taken  from  the  fireplace: 
"O  George!  Hide  Thy  Face  and  Mourn."  And  doubtless 
the  President  participated  heartily  in  the  applause  which 
greeted  the  toast;  "May  the  services  of  General  Greene  be 
remembered  with  gratitude  by  the  people  of  the  Southern 
States!"  x 
During  the  afternoon  Washington  drank  tea  at  Hughes's 

1  The  pictures  of  King  George  and  Queen  Charlotte,  the  back  of  the 
former  bearing  the  defiant  challenge  of  Greene,  are  still  preserved,  and  are 
herewith  reproduced.  They  are  beautiful  colored  prints,  and  were  brought 
to  Mrs.  Steel  from  England  by  her  brother,  Dr.  Maxwell,  long  before  the 
Revolution.  Mrs.  Steel,  the  mother  of  General  John  Steele  (who  added  the 
final  letter),  died  shortly  after  Washington's  arrival.  General  Steele  had  the 
greatest  affection  for  Washington,  but  he  loved  his  wife,  who  was  a  Miss 
Mary  Nesfield,  even  more.  On  one  occasion  (January  31,  1793),  he  wrote 
her  from  Philadelphia:  "I  dined  to-day  at  the  President's  in  a  very  large 
company  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  .  .  .  Without  you,  I  feel  like  Captain 
O'Blunder  '  Alone  in  the  throng'  .  .  .  The  President  to-day  asked  me  to 
drink  a  glass  of  wine  with  him.  This  is  considered  here  a  great  honor,  it 
may  be  so;  but  I  would  have  been  more  gratified  in  drinking  a  glass  with  my 
own  dear  Polly."  In  connection  with  General  Greene's  visit  to  Salisbury 
consult  Archibald  Henderson:  "Elizabeth  Maxwell  Steel,"  in  North  Caro- 
lina Booklet,  vol.  xii,  no.  2  (1912). 

305 


Washington* s  Southern  Tour 

Hotel  with  about  twenty  ladies  who  had  been  assem- 
bled for  the  occasion;  Mrs.  Steele,  Mrs.  McCorkle,  Mrs. 
Macay,  Mrs.  Torrence,  Mrs.  Chambers,  Miss  Elizabeth 
Henderson,  Miss  Sally  Alexander,  Miss  Mary  Faust,  Mrs. 
Lewis  Beard,  Mrs.  Giles,  Mrs.  Kelly,  and  others  whom 
tradition  has  ignored.  After  this  "interesting  ceremony," 
as  Washington  would  call  it,  he  returned  to  Yarborough's 
Hotel ;  but  the  people  besieged  the  place  and  clamored  for 
another  sight  of  the  President,  for  a  speech.  Washing- 
ton came  forth  in  response  to  the  clamors  of  the  excited 
throng;  and,  standing  upon  the  steps  of  Yarborough's 
Hotel  in  the  light  of  the  setting  sun  and  shading  his  face 
from  its  rays  with  his  handkerchief,  he  said  with  eloquent 
and  touching  simplicity:  "You  see  before  you  only  an  old 
gray-haired  man." 

A  reliable  historian  states:  "That  night  there  was  a 
grand  ball  given  to  the  President  at  Hughes's  Hotel  at- 
tended by  the  prominent  gentlemen  and  ladies  of  Salis- 
bury. .  .  .  How  far  the  'Father  of  his  Country'  partici- 
pated in  the  amusements  and  festivities  of  the  occasion, 
tradition  saith  not."  1  We  do  know  that  the  town  was  il- 

1  Rev.  Jethro  Rumple,  in  History  of  Rowan  County.  He  adds:  "There  is 
still  in  the  county  a  relic  of  this  ball  —  a  brown  satin  dress,  worn  by  Mrs. 
Lewis  Beard  —  the  daughter  of  John  Dunn,  Jr.  It  is  in  the  possession  of 
Mrs.  Mary  Locke,  granddaughter  of  Col.  Moses  A.  Locke,  and  great  grand- 
daughter of  the  lady  who  wore  it."  The  Reverend  A.  W.  Mangum,  who 
collected  his  materials  long  before  Rumple  studied  the  question,  makes  no 
mention  of  a  ball,  in  a  manuscript  account  of  Washington's  visit  to  Salis- 
bury, preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  No 
mention  of  it  is  made  in  the  full  contemporary  account  of  the  doings  of 
the  day,  sent  to  Mr.  Fenno,  editor  of  the  Gazette  of  the  United  States,  with  a 
note  bearing  the  initials  "  A.  T.,"  which  probably  identifies  the  writer  as  Al- 
bert Torrence.    No  doubt  at  Salisbury,  as  afterwards  at  Georgetown  and 

306 


Salisbury  and  Salem 

luminated,  that  night,  with  a  "real  North  Carolina  efful- 
gence" —  with  lamps,  doubtless  of  a  primitive  style,  and 
burning  tar-barrels,  which  gave  the  effect  of  a  Dantean 
Hades.  And  to  add  to  the  illusion,  the  pieces  of  artillery 
on  the  square  continued  at  intervals  to  roar  their  salutes  of 
belching  smoke  and  flame.  What  excitement!  What  a 
day  for  this  loyal  historical  town!  To  think  that  the  lit- 
eral minded  Washington,  in  speaking  of  place  and  people, 
could  say  in  his  diary  only  this  —  which  was  all  quite  true: 
"Salisbury  is  but  a  small  place  altho'  it  is  the  County 
town,  and  the  district  Court  is  held  in  it ;  —  nor  does  it  ap- 
pear to  be  much  on  the  increase,  —  there  is  about  three 
hundred  souls  in  it  and  tradesmen  of  different  kinds."  At 
least  we  know  that  the  day  Washington  reached  Salisbury 
he  "foundered  another  of  his  (my)  horses"  —  an  important 
historical  incident  which  is  herewith  conscientiously  re- 
corded. There  is  balm  for  Salisburians  in  the  record  of  the 
Reverend  A.  W.  Mangum,  who  thus  concludes  his  manu- 
script account  of  Washington's  visit:  "The  people  of  Salis- 
bury of  every  class  were  impressed  with  the  plainness  of 
his  apparel  and  his  affable  manners.  He  was  dressed  in 
plain  homespun  and  was  courteous  and  pleasant  to  all. 
He  expressed  himself  more  pleased  with  the  plain,  frank, 
earnest  welcome  of  Salisbury  than  the  gaudy  and  fantas- 
tic reception  at  Charleston."  l 

elsewhere  on  the  trip,  there  was  dancing  —  called  a  "  ball "  —  following  the 
"Tea  Party."  In  "The  Harris  Letters"  (Sprunt  Historical  Publications, 
vol.  xiv,  no.  i,  University  of  North  Carolina),  Professor  H.  M.  Wagstaft 
states  that  a  ball  was  given  at  Albert  Torrence's  in  honor  of  Washington. 

1  A  poem,  "Salisbury  Town,"  by  Charles  Benton  Canady,  contains  this 
stanza: 

307 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

The  next  morning  Washington  set  off  at  four  o'clock, 
being  escorted  as  far  as  the  Yadkin  River  by  the  gentle- 
men who  dined  with  him  and  the  company  of  cavalry. 
At  Long's  Ferry  he  made  a  short  address  to  the  military 
company,  under  the  command  of  Captain  John  Beard, 
and  "took  leave  of  the  other  gentlemen  in  the  most  polite 
and  affectionate  manner."  Washington's  account  in  his 
diary  for  Tuesday,  May  31st,  is  as  follows: 

Left  Salisbury  about  4  o'clock;  at  5  miles  crossed  the  Yad- 
kin, the  principal  stream  of  the  Peedee,  and  breakfasted  on 
the  No.  Bank,  (while  my  Carriages  &  horses  were  crossing) 
at  a  Mr.  Young's  fed  my  horses  10  miles  farther,  at  one  Reeds 
—  and  about  3  o'clock  (after  another  halt)  arrived  at  Salem, 
one  of  the  Moravian  towns  20  miles  farther  —  In  all  35  from 
Salisbury. 

The  road  between  Salisbury  &  Salem  passes  over  very  little 
good  land,  and  much  that  is  different  [indifferent?];  being  a 
good  deal  mixed  with  Pine,  but  not  sand. 

Salem  is  a  small  but  neat  village;  &  like  all  the  rest  of  the 
Moravian  settlements,  is  governed  by  an  excellent  police  — 
having  within  itself  all  kinds  of  artizans  —  The  number  of 
Souls  does  not  exceed  200.  * 

If  from  less  spacious  scenes  we  glance 
At  those  adventurous  days  now  gone, 
Their  hardships,  brightened  with  romance 
Hallow  the  soil  we  stand  upon. 
Here  Boone  released  his  restless  soul 
To  hew  a  pathway  to  the  west, 
Cornwallis  here,  with  Greene  his  goal, 
Spurred  northward  in  his  eager  quest, 
And  Jackson,  merry  Andrew  then 
Read  here  his  Blackstone  and  his  Coke, 
And  Washington,  our  chief  of  men 
Came  down  to  greet  the  Southern  folk. 

1  In  this  same  year  William  Loughton  Smith,  Senator  from  South  Caro- 
lina, visited  Salem,  and  makes  the  following  entry  in  his  diary:  "Between 
200  and  300  persons  of  this  Sect  here  assembled  live  in  brotherly  love  and 

308 


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Salisbury  and  Salem 

Washington's  choice  of  Salem  as  one  of  the  points  on 
his  route  may  have  been  dictated  by  the  condition  of  the 
roads.  But  doubtless  Washington  desired  to  indicate  his 
friendliness  —  the  attitude  of  parental  benevolence  suited 
to  a  father  of  his  country  —  toward  a  people  who  had 
proven  by  their  deeds  the  sincerity  of  their  neutrality,  and 
their  extraordinary  ability  to  live  in  peace  and  amity  with 
their  neighbors,  red  as  well  as  white.  The  Moravians  were 
highly  gratified  to  have  the  President  visit  their  settle- 
ment ;  and  showed  him  the  utmost  hospitality.  Albert  Tor- 
rence  says  that  Washington  was  "received  at  the  bridge 
by  the  people  of  the  place,  and  conducted  into  town  with 
a  complete  band  of  music  playing  before  him.  On  his  ar- 
rival the  bells  rung,  and  the  church  organ  played  almost 
the  whole  of  the  night."  An  interesting  description  of  the 
doings  of  this  day  as  contained  in  the  "Salem  Diary"  for 
1 79 1,  is  as  follows: 

set  a  laudable  example  of  industry.  .  .  .  Every  man  follows  some  occupa- 
tion; every  woman  is  engaged  in  some  feminine  work;  a  tanner,  shoemaker, 
potter,  saddler,  tinner,  brewer,  distiller,  etc.  is  here  seen  at  work;  from  their 
labors  they  not  only  supply  themselves  but  the  country  all  around  them. 
The  first  view  of  the  town  is  romantic,  just  as  it  breaks  upon  you  through 
the  woods;  it  is  pleasantly  seated  on  a  rising  ground  and  is  surrounded  by 
beautiful  meadows,  well-cultivated  fields,  and  shady  woods.  The  antique 
appearance  of  the  houses,  built  in  the  German  style,  and  the  trees  among 
which  they  are  placed  have  a  singular  and  pleasing  effect;  the  whole  re- 
sembles a  beautiful  village,  and  forms  a  pastoral  scene.  .  .  .  Mr.  Bagge,  one 
of  the  brethren  and  a  respectable  old  gentleman,  who  keeps  a  store  here  .  .  . 
very  politely  conducted  me  to  the  single  men's  house,  and  to  all  the  differ- 
ent trades.  I  found  every  one  hard  at  work;  such  a  scene  of  industry,  per- 
haps, exists  no  where  in  so  small  a  place.  The  brewery  and  distillery  are 
considerable;  the  beer  is  very  good,  and  a  cordial  made  out  of  the  whiskey 
excellent.  Water  brought  from  the  adjacent  rivulets  is  collected  in  large 
pipes  and  conveyed  to  all  the  houses.  .  .  ."  Cf.  Journal  of  William  Lough- 
ton  Smith.    Jjgo-ijgi.    Edited  by  Albert  Matthews.    (Cambridge:  The 

309 


Washingtojfs  Southern  Tour 

May  31.  At  the  end  of  this  month  the  congregation  of  Sa- 
lem had  the  pleasure  of  welcoming  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  George  Washington,  on  his  return  journey  from  the 
southern  states.  We  had  already  heard  that  he  would  return 
to  Virginia  by  way  of  our  town.  This  afternoon  we  heard  that 
this  morning  he  left  Salisbury,  35  miles  from  here,  so  the  Brn. 
Marshall,  Koehler,  and  Benzien  rode  out  a  bit  to  meet  him, 
and  as  he  approached  the  town  several  melodies  were  played, 
partly  by  trumpets  and  french  horns,  partly  by  trombones. 
He  was  accompanied  only  by  his  secretary,  Major  Jackson, 
and  the  necessary  servants.  On  alighting  from  the  carriage 
he  greeted  the  by-standers  in  friendly  fashion,  and  was  par- 
ticularly pleasant  to  the  children  gathered  there.  Then  he 
conversed  on  various  subjects  with  the  Brethren  who  con- 
ducted him  to  the  room  prepared  for  him.  At  first  he  said 
that  he  must  go  on  the  next  morning,  but  when  he  learned 
that  the  Governor  of  our  State  would  like  to  meet  him  here 
the  following  day  he  said  he  would  rest  here  one  day.  He  told 
our  musicians  that  he  would  enjoy  some  music  with  his  eve- 
ning meal,  and  was  served  with  it.1 

The  inn  where  Washington  was  entertained  as  the  guest 
of  the  community  is  still  standing —  known  to-day  as  the 
Old  Salem  Hotel.2 

University  Press.)  From  the  Proceedings  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  So- 
ciety, October,  191 7. 

1  The  original  diary  is  in  German;  this  translation  has  been  courteously 
supplied  me  by  Miss  Adelaide  L.  Fries,  Secretary  of  the  Wachovia  Histori- 
cal Society,  Winston-Salem,  North  Carolina.  Frederick  William  Marshall 
was  prominent  in  the  founding  of  Salem.  Bishop  John  Daniel  Koehler  was 
the  pastor  for  Salem.  The  Reverend  Christian  Louis  Benzien  was  one  of 
the  leading  men  of  the  community  for  years  before  and  after  Washington's 
visit.  For  details  of  the  settlement,  consult  History  of  Wachovia  in  North 
Carolina,  by  J.  H.  Clewell  (New  York,  1902).  The  "Records  of  the  Mora- 
vians of  North  Carolina,"  under  the  editorship  of  Miss  Fries,  are  now  being 
published  by  the  North  Carolina  Historical  Commission. 

2  The  Salem  Tavern,  as  it  was  called  in  the  olden  time,  stands  on  the 
west  side  of  Main  Street,  between  West  Street  and  Washington  Avenue. 
When  the  present  owners,  a  group  of  Moravian  men,  purchased  the  build- 
ing, they  took  a  frame  section  to  the  north  about  as  large  as  the  brick  por- 

3IO 


Salisbury  and  Salem 

The  President  of  Salem  Academy  and  College,  boosting 
the  building  of  great  hotels  and  lamenting  the  general 
lack  of  progress,  recently  remarked  at  a  banquet  that,  on 
visiting  the  room  in  Salem  in  which  Washington  slept,  he 
was  reverently  told  that  it  hadn't  been  touched  since  1791. 
This,  aside:  — "And  it  looked  it!" 

At  this  time  the  Governor  of  North  Carolina  was  Alex- 
ander Martin,  graduate  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  who 
had  removed  from  New  Jersey  to  North  Carolina  about 
1760.    Martin  had  served  during  the  Revolution  under 

tion.  The  part,  built  of  brick,  is  the  original  historical  building.  Upon  its 
walls  is  a  tablet,  placed  there  by  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion, bearing  the  following  inscription:  "The  Old  Salem  Tavern.  Site  se- 
lected 1768.  First  Building  burned  January  31st,  1784.  Present  Building 
erected  1784.  President  Washington  entertained  May  31st,  1791." 

1  Alexander  Martin,  born  at  Lebanon,  New  Jersey,  about  1738,  was  the 
son  of  Hugh  and  Jane  Martin.  Hugh  Martin  emigrated  from  County 
Tyrone,  Ireland,  in  1721  and  settled  in  Hunterdon  County,  New  Jersey. 
Alexander  Martin  was  graduated  from  Nassau  Hall,  September  29,  1756. 
He  settled  in  Rowan  County,  North  Carolina,  about  1760;  and  after 
studying  law,  was  active  in  its  practice,  often  presiding  over  the  District 
Court  at  Salisbury.  In  1772  he  removed  to  Guilford  Court  House.  Mem- 
ber of  the  Colonial  Assembly  from  Guilford  County,  1 774-1 775.  Appointed 
Lieutenant-Colonel  of  Second  North  Carolina  Regiment,  Continental 
Line,  September  1,  1775;  and  promoted  to  colonelcy  of  same  regiment, 
April  10,  1776,  which  he  held  until  November  2,  1777,  when  he  resigned. 
Participated  in  the  Battle  of  Brandywine,  September  11,  1775,  and  the 
Battle  of  Germantown,  October  4,  1779.  State  Senator  from  Guilford 
County,  1778-1782,  1785,  1787-88;  Speaker  of  the  Senate,  1780,  1781, 
1782.  Acting-Governor  of  North  Carolina,  1781-82;  Governor,  1782-85, 
1789-92.  Chairman  North  Carolina  Board  of  War,  1780-81.  Elected  to 
Congress  from  North  Carolina,  December  17,  1786;  and  on  January  7, 
1787,  as  delegate  to  the  Constitutional  Convention  in  Philadelphia. 
Elected  to  the  United  States  Senate,  serving  from  March  4,  1793,  to  March 
3,  1799.  Removed  to  his  plantation  "Danbury"  in  Rockingham  County, 
1789.  President  Board  of  Trustees,  University  of  North  Carolina,  1792-93. 
Received  degree  of  LL.D.  from  the  College  of  New  Jersey  in  1793.  Mem- 
ber State  Senate  from  Rockingham  County,  1804,  1805.  Died  at  "Dan- 
bury,"  November  2,  1807. 

311 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

Washington,  who  presented  to  him  a  pair  of  silver  cups  at 
the  time  of  his  retirement  from  the  service.  During  Wash- 
ington's entire  second  term,  Martin  was  Senator  from 
North  Carolina.  He  was  a  delegate  from  North  Carolina 
to  the  Federal  Convention  at  Philadelphia  to  frame  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.  A  Federalist  of  the 
Washington  type,  he  was  capable,  energetic,  and  concilia- 
tory—  winning  popular  favor  to  such  an  extent  that  he 
was  six  times  Governor  of  North  Carolina.  He  had  a  fine 
plantation  on  the  Dan  River  in  Rockingham  County;  and 
also  a  home  at  Martinsville  (Guilford),  where  he  enter- 
tained Washington  on  June  2d  and  3d. 

As  illustrative  of  the  attachment  to  Washington  of 
Governor  Martin  and  of  the  people  of  North  Carolina,  the 
following  incident  deserves  record.  On  June  26,  1790, 
Governor  Alexander  Martin  and  the  Council  of  State  of 
North  Carolina,  in  session  at  the  Rockingham  Springs, 
drew  up  the  following  letter  which  was  transmitted  to 
George  Washington : 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
Sir, 

The  governor  and  council  of  the  State  of  North-Carolina 
embrace  the  earliest  opportunity  afforded  them  since  the  ac- 
cession of  this  state  to  the  constitution,  and  the  completion  of 
the  union  by  all  the  states,  of  congratulating  you  upon  this 
most  auspicious  event,  by  which  all  causes  of  future  dissen- 
tion  among  the  states  will  be  obviated  —  the  impost,  that 
great  branch  of  revenue  and  support  of  public  credit,  collected 
with  more  facility,  and  our  finances  more  properly  ar- 
ranged. 

We  congratulate  ourselves  with  equal  sincerity  on  behold- 
ing you,  sir,  in  the  highest  departments  cvhich  your  virtues 

312 


SALEM  TAVERN,   NORTH   CAROLINA 


SALEM  TAVERN  TABLET 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

DIVERSITY  OF  Illinois 


Salisbury  and  Salem 

merited,  and  to  which  your  country  unanimously  and  grate- 
fully appointed  you. 

The  importance  of  your  situation  receives  additional  dig- 
nity by  the  veneration  your  country  possesses  for  your  char- 
acter, and  from  a  confidence  that  every  power  vested  in  you 
by  the  constitution,  will  be  exerted  for  the  happiness  and 
prosperity  of  your  country,  by  giving  efficacy  to  such  a  sys- 
tem as  will  ensure  and  conciliate  the  public  mind  —  a  confi- 
dence felt  by  all  —  by  none  more  powerfully  than  the  citizens 
of  this  state. 

We  have  just  received  the  happy  information  of  your  re- 
covery from  a  disorder  which  threatened  your  life;  a  life  we 
may  truly  say  as  necessary  as  dear  to  us.  With  grateful 
hearts  we  return  thanks  to  the  great  disposer  of  events  for 
this  beneficent  mark  of  his  attention  in  preserving  you.  May 
it  long  be  shewn  in  continuing  you  among  us,  and  when  the 
awful  day  comes  which  is  to  separate  you  from  us,  may  you 
receive  the  reward  of  those  virtues  which  he  only  can  bestow. 

Alexander  Martin. 
Wyatt  Hawkins,  President. 

Done  in  council  unanimously,  at  the  Rockingham  Springs,  June  26,  1790. 

By  order 
Thomas  Henderson,  C.  C. 

To  the  above  the  President  returned  the  following 
answer: 

To  the  Governor  and  Council  of  the  state  of  North- 
Carolina. 
Gentlemen, 

I  entreat  you  to  be  persuaded  that  nothing  could  have  been 
more  agreeable  to  me,  than  the  proofs  contained  in  your  af- 
fectionate address  of  the  friendly  sentiments  entertained  by 
you  for  my  person,  as  well  as  for  the  government  which  I  have 
been  appointed  by  my  countrymen  to  administer.  And  I  re- 
ciprocate, with  heartfelt  satisfaction,  your  congratulations  on 
the  completion  of  the  union  of  all  the  states;  an  event,  in  my 
judgment,  pregnant  with  more  salutary  consequences,  than 
can  easily  be  expressed  or  conceived 

313 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

It  will  ever  be  my  first  wish  and  most  strenuous  endeavour, 
to  justify,  so  far  as  may  be  in  my  power,  the  confidence  which 
my  fellow-citizens  have  thought  proper  to  repose  in  me,  by 
exerting  every  power  vested  in  the  President  of  the  United 
States  by  the  constitution,  for  the  happiness  and  prosperity 
of  our  country;  and  by  giving  efficacy  to  such  a  system  as  will 
ensure  the  general  welfare,  and  conciliate  the  public  mind. 

I  desire,  gentlemen,  to  make  acceptable  to  you  my  ac- 
knowledgments for  the  kind  concern  you  take  in  the  restora- 
tion of  my  health  and  preservation  of  my  life;  and  in  the 
retribution  I  may  receive  after  the  conclusion  of  this  mortal 
existence.  May  you,  and  the  state  in  whose  government  you 
have  the  principal  agency,  be  also  the  peculiar  care  of  divine 
providence. 

G.  Washington 

United  States,  August  26,  1790. 

The  following  is  the  entry  in  Washington's  diary,  under 
June  1st: 

Having  received  information  that  Governor  Martin  was  on 
his  way  to  meet  me;  and  would  be  at  Salem  this  evening,  I  re- 
solved to  await  his  arrival  at  this  place  instead  of  halting  a 
day  at  Guilford  as  I  had  intended; 

Spent  the  forenoon  in  visiting  the  Shops  of  the  different 
Tradesmen.  The  houses  of  accomodation  for  the  single  men 
&  Sisters  of  the  Fraternity  —  &  their  place  of  worship.  — 
Invited  six  of  their  principal  people  to  dine  with  me  —  and  in 
the  evening  went  to  hear  them  sing,  &  perform  on  a  variety  of 
instruments  Church  music. 

In  the  Afternoon  Governor  Martin  as  was  expected  (with 
his  Secretary)  arrived. 

The  Moravians  in  North  Carolina  have  always  been 
famous  for  their  love  of  music,  and  for  their  communal 
cultivation  of  it  both  vocally  and  instrumentally.  In  their 
Moravian  Museum  at  Salem  is  still  preserved  an  ancient 
tune  book  which  contains  the  music  of  a  tune  much  the 

3H 


Salisbury  and  Salem 

same  as  "My  Country,  'tis  of  thee,"  which  is  entitled 
"God  Save  Great  Washington."  This  tune  was  doubtless 
played  by  the  trombonists  who  went  to  greet  Washington 
upon  his  arrival  —  and  perhaps  again  later,  during  his 
evening  meal.  In  the  same  Museum  is  shown  the  old 
spinet  upon  which  a  young  lady  played  for  Washington's 
delectation.  At  the  conclusion  of  her  recital,  she  naturally 
expected  that  the  great  man,  who  had  been  standing  near 
by,  would  compliment  her  upon  her  skill  as  an  execu- 
tant and  upon  her  sympathetic  touch.  Her  heart  was  all 
a-flutter  as  he  drew  near;  but  we  must  endeavor  to  imagine 
her  disappointment  and  vexation  when  Washington,  who 
had  noted  a  wart  on  her  hand,  gave  her  a  formula  for  tak- 
ing it  off.  //  ne  manquait  que  cal 

An  account  of  the  events  of  the  day,  much  more  inter- 
esting and  graphic  than  Washington's,  is  found  in  the 
"Salem  Diary,"  here  set  down  in  full: 

June  i,  the  President  and  Major  Jackson,  accompanied  by 
several  Brethren,  took  a  look  at  the  workshops,  Choir  Houses, 
and  other  institutions  of  our  town,  and  he  expressed  his 
pleasure  with  various  things  especially  the  water-works  and 
its  use.  As  a  testimony  of  the  loyal  attitude  of  the  Brethren 
in  Wachovia  toward  the  Government  of  these  states  an  ad- 
dress was  prepared,  and  the  President  set  a  time  for  its  pres- 
entation. Therefore  at  two  o'clock  several  Brethren  brought 
it,  and  after  Dr.  Marshall  had  read  it,  according  to  custom, 
and  had  presented  it,  the  President,  in  the  same  manner,  pre- 
sented his  answer,  couched  in  favorable  terms,  both  papers 
being  inserted  in  this  Diary.  Six  Brethren  were  then  invited 
to  dine  with  him,  and  during  the  meal  there  was  again  music. 
Many  people  came  from  the  neighborhood  and  from  our  other 
congregations  to  see  the  President,  he  being  such  a  prominent 

315 


TVashingtoJi's  Southern  Tour 

figure  in  this  land,  and  gladly  gave  them  an  opportunity  to 
fulfil  their  desire.  Toward  evening  the  Governor  of  this  State, 
Mr.  Alexander  Martin,  arrived  from  his  plantation  some  forty 
miles  from  here  on  Dan  River.  He,  the  President,  and  Major 
Jackson  attended  a  song  service  that  evening,  the  singing 
being  interspersed  with  instrumental  selections,  and  they  ex- 
pressed their  pleasure  in  it.  At  the  close  of  the  day  the  wind 
instruments  were  heard  sweetly  beside  the  Tavern.  During 
the  day  Major  Jackson  inquired  concerning  the  principles  of 
our  congregation,  and  was  much  pleased  at  being  presented 
with  a  copy  of  the  Brethren's  History,  and  of  the  Idea  Fidei 
Fratrum.1 

June  2,  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  entire  company 
departed,  the  Brn.  Marshall  and  Benzein  accompanying 
them  across  the  boundaries  of  Wachovia. 

The  address  mentioned  in  this  account  breathes  a  spirit 
of  great  piety,  voices  sincere  appreciation  of  the  Presi- 
dent's courtesy  in  visiting  the  Moravian  Town,  as  it  was 
commonly  called,  and  avows  a  truly  patriotic  allegiance  to 
the  United  States.  The  President's  reply,  with  entire  fit- 
ness, gives  approval  to  the  fundamental  principles  of  good 
citizenship  which  characterize  the  Moravian  Brotherhood. 
The  address  and  reply,  which  are  recorded  in  the  "Salem 
Diary,"  are  reproduced  below  in  full: 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States: 

Happy  in  sharing  the  honor  of  a  visit  from  the  illustrious 
President  of  the  Union  to  the  Southern  States,  the  Brethren 
of  Wachovia  humbly  beg  leave,  upon  this  joyful  occasion,  to 
express  their  highest  esteem,  duty,  and  affection  for  the  great 
patriot  of  this  country. 

Deeply  impressed  as  we  are  with  gratitude  to  the  great  au- 

1  According  to  information  supplied  me  by  Miss  Adelaide  L.  Fries,  Cura- 
tor of  the  Wachovia  Historical  Society,  Winston-Salem,  North  Carolina, 
the  "Brethren's  History"  was  doubtless  the  work  of  Cranz  (Barby,  1771, 
first  edition,  2000  copies;  second  edition,  1772).   The  copy  presented  to 

316 


SALEM  GEMEINHAUS 


FREDERICK  WILLIAM  MARSHALL 


Salisbury  and  Salem 

thor  of  our  being  for  his  unbounded  mercies,  we  cannot  but 
particularly  acknowledge  his  gracious  providence  over  the 

Major  Jackson  was  probably  Latrobe's  English  translation,  —  the  title- 
page  reading  as  follows: 

The 

Ancient  and  Modern 

HISTORY 

of  the 

BRETHREN 

or 

A  Succinct  Narrative 

of  the 

Protestant  Church 

of  the 
United  Brethren, 

or 
Unitas  Fratrum, 

In  the  remoter  Ages,  and  particularly  in  the  present  Century: 

written  in  German 

By  David  Cranz, 

Author  of  the  History  of  Greenland; 

Now  translated  into  English,  with  Emendations; 

and  published,  with  some  additional  Notes, 

By  Benjamin  La  Trobe. 

I  have  considered  the  days  of  old,  the  years  of  ancient  times. 

Ps.  lxxvii,  5. 

London: 

Printed  by  W.  and  A.  Strahan; 

And  sold  by  J.  Robson,  in  Bond  Street;  T.  Cadell,  in  the  Strand; 

C.  Dilly  in  the  Poultry;  and  at  the  Settlements  and 

Chapels  of  the  Congregations  of  the  Brethren. 

MDCCLXXX. 

The  Idea  Fidei  Fratrum  was  written  by  Bishop  August  Gottlieb  Span- 
genberg,  and  printed  (1779)  at  Barby,  Saxony,  in  the  Printing  Office  of  the 
Unity.  In  1796  it  was  translated  into  English  by  Benjamin  La  Trobe,  un- 
der the  title  An  Exposition  of  Christian  Doctrine,  as  taught  in  the  Protestant 
Church  of  the  United  Brethren,  or  Unitas  Fratrum.  This  work  was  also  trans- 
lated and  published  in  Danish,  Swedish,  Dutch,  and  French. 

317 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

temporal  and  political  prosperity  of  the  country,  in  the  peace, 
and  wherein  none  can  take  a  warmer  interest  than  ourselves, 
in  particular  when  we  consider  that  the  same  Lord  who  pre- 
served your  precious  person  in  so  many  ways  has  made  you  in 
a  conspicuous  manner  an  instrument  in  his  hands  to  forward 
that  happy  constitution,  together  with  these  improvements 
whereby  our  United  States  begin  to  flourish,  over  which  you 
preside  with  the  applause  of  a  thankful  nation. 

Whenever,  therefore,  we  solicit  the  protection  of  the  Father 
of  Mercies  over  this  favored  country,  we  cannot  but  fer- 
vently implore  his  kindness  for  your  preservation,  which  is  so 
intimately  connected  therewith. 

May  this  gracious  Lord  vouchsafe  to  prolong  your  valuable 
life  as  a  further  blessing,  and  an  ornament  of  the  constitution, 
that  by  your  worthy  example  the  regard  for  religion  be  in- 
creased, and  the  improvements  of  civil  society  encouraged. 

The  settlements  of  the  United  Brethren,  though  small,  will 
always  make  it  their  study  to  contribute  as  much  as  in  them 
lies  to  the  peace  and  improvement  of  the  United  States, 
and  all  the  particular  parts  they  live  in,  joining  their  ardent 
prayers  to  the  best  wishes  of  this  whole  continent  that  your 
personal  as  well  as  domestic  happiness  may  abound,  and  a 
series  of  successes  may  crown  your  labours  for  the  prosperity 
of  our  times  and  an  example  to  future  ages,  until  the  glorious 
reward  of  a  faithful  servant  shall  be  your  portion. 

Signed,  in  behalf  of  the  United  Brethren  in  Wachovia, 
Frederick  William  Marshall, 
John  Daniel  Koehler, 
Christian  Lewis  Benzien. 

Salem,  the  ist  of  June,  1791. 

The  President  was  pleased  to  return  the  following 
answer: 

To  the  United  Brethren  of  Wachovia: 
Gentlemen: 

I  am  greatly  indebted  to  your  respectable  and  affectionate 
expression  of  personal  regard,  and  I  am  not  less  obliged  by 
the  patriotic  sentiment  contained  in  your  address. 

318 


Salisbury  and  Salem 

From  a  society  whose  governing  principles  are  industry  and 
love  of  order,  much  may  be  expected  toward  the  improvement 
and  prosperity  of  the  country  in  which  their  settlements  are 
formed,  and  experience  authorizes  the  belief  that  much  will 
be  obtained. 

Thanking  you  with  grateful  sincerity  for  your  prayers  in 
my  behalf,  I  desire  to  assure  you  of  my  best  wishes  for  your 
social  and  individual  happiness. 

G.  Washington. 

A  word  from  the  young  Charles  Caldwell,  who  seemed 
to  glory  in  the  role  of  guide  to  the  President  —  apparently 
since  it  gave  him  such  an  unrivalled  opportunity  to  dis- 
play his  own  knowledge  —  will  present  some  of  the  events 
of  these  days,  as  viewed  from  the  peculiar  angle  of  that 
very  self-conscious  young  man : 

During  Washington's  stay  in  Salisbury,  I  was  much  around 
his  person,  in  the  capacity  of  junior  master  of  ceremony,  and 
when  the  General  left  Salisbury,  on  his  way  to  the  north,  I 
again,  at  the  head  of  a  new  and  larger  escort,  attended  him  to 
Guildford  Courthouse,  the  celebrated  battle-ground  of  Greene 
and  Cornwallis,  a  distance,  as  well  as  I  now  remember,  of 
about  sixty  miles.  Having  there  conducted  him  over  the  field 
of  action  of  the  two  armies,  according  to  the  best  information 
I  could  collect  respecting  its  localities  and  limits,  we  returned 
to  the  Court-house,  where,  conformably  to  my  orders,  I  reluc- 
tantly took  leave  of  him  - —  he,  to  proceed  on  his  journey  to 
the  then  seat  of  government,  and  I  to  retrace  my  route  to  the 
South.  Nor,  highly  flattered  as  I  had  been  by  his  notice  of  me, 
and  even  by  occasional  marks  of  his  apparent  partiality  to- 
ward me,  and  sincerely  attached  as  I  had  become  to  his  per- 
son, was  the  act  of  leave-taking,  on  my  part,  without  much 
more  emotion  than  I  believed  I  should  experience. 

Having  paid  to  him,  at  the  head  of  my  little  squadron,  the 
farewell  ceremony,  in  military  style,  and  being  about  to  issue 
the  command  to  move  forward,  Washington  beckoned  me  to 
approach  him.  Having  eagerly  advanced  to  within  a  suitable 

319 


Washington'* s  Southern  Tour 

distance,  he  bowed  in  his  saddle,  and  extended  to  me  his  hand. 
That  act,  accompanied,  as  I  fancied  it  to  be,  by  an  appear- 
ance, in  his  countenance,  of  marks  of  feeling,  again  com- 
pletely unmanned  and  silenced  me.  As,  on  first  meeting  him, 
I  was  able  to  greet  him  only  with  my  sword,  I  could  now  bid 
him  a  personal  farewell  in  no  other  way  than  by  the  pressure 
of  his  hand;  and,  observing  my  emotion,  my  eyes  once  more 
swimming  in  tears,  he  returned  the  pressure,  and  addressed 
to  me  a  few  words,  thanking  me  courteously  for  my  devoted 
attention,  and  what  he  was  pleased  to  call  my  numerous  serv- 
ices to  him,  and  hoping  to  see  me  during  the  prosecution  of 
my  studies  in  Philadelphia,  to  which  place  I  had  apprised  him 
of  my  intention  to  repair,  he  again  pressed  my  hand,  and  was 
forthwith  in  motion. 

For  a  moment,  I  fancied  my  behavior  to  have  been  so  un- 
soldier-like,  that  I  almost  hesitated  to  assume  my  station  at 
the  head  of  my  escort;  but,  casting  a  look  toward  it,  as  it 
stood  motionless  in  column,  I  perceived  several  of  its  mem- 
bers, some  years  older  than  myself,  and  noted  for  their  firm- 
ness, wiping  the  moisture  from  their  eyes,  as  I  had  just  done 
from  mine,  and  that  sight  did  much  to  reconcile  me  to  myself. 
It  convinced  me  that  the  scene  I  had  just  passed  through 
had  been  a  moving  one;  and  that,  when  affection  is  awakened, 
it  is  not  unmanly  for  even  a  soldier  to  weep.  I  therefore  re- 
placed myself  at  their  head,  and  led  my  comrades  back  to 
Salisbury.1 

Washington  gives  the  following  account  of  the  events  of 

Thursday,  2d: 

In  company  with  the  Govr  I  set  out  by  4  Oclock  for  Guil- 
ford —  Breakfasted  at  one  Dobsons  at  the  distance  of  eleven 
Miles  from  Salem  and  dined  at  Guilford  16  Miles  further, 
where  there  was  a  considerable  gathering  of  people  who  had 

1  There  seems  to  be  some  discrepancy  between  Caldwell's  account  and 
the  events  as  recorded  contemporaneously.  The  military  escort  from  Salis- 
bury left  Washington  at  Long's  Ferry,  on  May  31st,  and  returned  to  Salis- 
bury, presumably  accompanied  by  young  Caldwell.  Caldwell  perhaps 
headed,  or  at  least  was  one  of,  the  party  of  light  horse  which  met  Wash- 
ington near  Guilford  on  June  2d. 

320 


SALEM  BROTHERS     HOUSE 


SALEM  SISTERS     HOUSE 


JUL  UBflAttV 

OF  THE 
UaiVERSlTY  Of  K  UMUIS 


Salisbury  and  Salem 

received  notice  of  my  intention  to  be  there  to  day  &  came  to 
satisfy  their  curiosity.1 

On  my  way  I  examined  the  ground  on  which  the  Action  be- 
tween General  Greene  and  Lord  Cornwallis  commenced — ■ 
and  after  dinner  rode  over  that  where  their  lines  were  formed 
and  the  scene  closed  in  the  retreat  of  the  American  forces  — 
The  first  line  of  which  was  advantageously  drawn  up,  and  had 
the  Troops  done  their  duty  properly,  the  British  must  have 
been  sorely  galded  in  yr  advance,  if  not  defeated.  — 

The  lands  between  Salem  and  Guilford  are,  in  places,  very 
fine;  but  upon  the  whole  can  not  be  called  more  than  middling 
—  some  being  very  bad.  — 

On  my  approach  to  this  place  (Guilford)  I  was  met  by  a 
party  of  light  horse  which  I  prevailed  on  the  Governor  to  dis- 
miss, and  to  countermand  his  orders  for  others  to  attend  me 
through  the  State.2 

An  interesting  side-light  upon  an  important  incident  of 
the  day  is  a  description  of  a  conversation  with  Washington 
which  Thomas  Jefferson  records : 

In  conversation  with  the  President  to-day,  and  speaking 
about  General  Greene,  he  said  that  he  and  General  Greene 
had  always  differed  in  opinion  about  the  manner  of  using  Mi- 
litia. Greene  always  placed  them  in  his  front:  himself  was  of 
opinion,  they  should  always  be  used  as  a  reserve  to  improve 

1  On  the  way,  it  seems,  about  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  Washington 
stopped  for  a  drink  of  water  at  the  home  of  Levi  Buckingham,  who  lived 
about  a  mile  northeast  of  Colfax  Station,  between  Friendship  and  Kerners- 
ville,  in  Guilford  County.  Trivial  as  the  incident  is,  it  means  something  to 
the  neighborhood;  and  the  spring  from  which  he  drank  is  still  pointed  out. 
Little  Sarah  Buckingham  (afterward  Mrs.  Jessup),  then  about  nine  years 
old,  went  down  to  the  spring  with  her  father;  and  often  afterwards  spoke 
particularly  of  Washington's  firm  tread  and  of  his  manifest  enjoyment  of 
simple  country  life.  For  this  information  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  John  T. 
Brittain,  of  Asheboro,  North  Carolina. 

2  We  are  reminded  here  of  William  Blount's  jocular  remark  in  the  letter 
to  J.  G.  Blount,  ante:  "I  have  given  this  to  Gov.  Martin  so  that  you 
may  shortly  expect  to  hear  of  pompous  orders  for  equiping  and  training  the 
Cavalry." 

321 


Washington* 's  Southern  Tour 

any  advantage,  for  which  purpose  they  were  the  finest fellows 
in  the  world.  He  said  he  was  on  the  ground  of  the  battle  of 
Guilford,  with  a  person  who  was  in  the  action,  and  who  ex- 
plained the  whole  of  it  to  him.  That  General  Greene's  front 
was  behind  a  fence  at  the  edge  of  a  large  field,  through  which 
the  enemy  were  obliged  to  pass  to  get  at  them;  and  that  in 
their  passage  through  this  they  must  have  been  torn  all  to 
pieces,  if  troops  had  been  posted  there  who  would  have  stood 
their  ground;  and  that  the  retreat  from  that  position  was 
through  a  thicket  perfectly  secure.  Instead  of  this,  he  posted 
the  North  Carolina  militia  there,  who  only  gave  one  fire  and 
fell  back,  so  that  the  whole  benefit  of  their  position  was  lost. 
He  thinks  that  the  regulars,  with  their  field  pieces,  would 
have  hardly  let  a  single  man  get  through  that  field.1 

1  Anas,  June  7,  1793.  In  his  able  work,  "North  Carolina,  i78o-'8i," 
David  Schenck  shows  by  a  wealth  of  evidence  that  "  the  North  Carolina 
militia  were,  by  the  personal  order  of  General  Greene,  directly  instructed  to 
fire  twice,  and  assured  that  he  required  no  more  of  them."  Compare  chap- 
ter vii  of  that  work,  pp.  293-387. 


F 


CHAPTER  XII 
THE  NINTH  STAGE 

The  Return  to  Mount  Vernon 
ROM  the  public  standpoint,  Washington's  Southern 
tour  was  concluded  at  Guilford  Court-House,  North 
Carolina.  The  remainder  of  the  trip  is  just  —  going 
home.  Washington's  diary  for  this  period  is  valuable  as 
containing  general  observations  upon  the  country,  the 
people,  and  the  tour,  and  is  here  set  down  without  com- 
mentary. 

Friday  —  3? 

Took  my  leave  of  the  Govern'  whose  intention  was  to  have 
attended  me  to  the  line,  but  for  my  request  that  he  would 
not;  and  about  4  Oclock  proceeded  on  my  journey.  —  Break- 
fasted at  troublesome  Ironworks  (called  15,  but  which  is  at 
least,  17  Miles  from  Guilford  partly  in  Rain  and  from  my  in- 
formation or  for  want  of  it  was  obliged  to  travel  1 1  Miles  fur- 
ther than  I  intended  today  —  to  one  Gatewoods  within  two 
miles  of  Dix'  ferry  over  the  Dan  at  least  30  Miles  from  the 
Ironworks.  —  The  Lands  over  which  I  passed  this  day  were 
of  various  qualities  and  as  I  approached  the  Dan,  were  a 
good  deal  covered  with  pine. — 

In  conversing  with  the  Governor  on  the  State  of  Politics  in 
N°  Carolina  I  learnt  with  pleasure  that  opposition  to  the 
Gen1  Government,  &  the  discontent  of  the  people  were  sub- 
siding fast  —  and  that  he  should,  so  soon  as  he  had  received 
the  Laws  which  he  had  written  to  the  Secretary  of  State  for, 
issue  his  proclamation  requiring  all  Officers  &  Members  of 
the  Governm'  to  take  the  Oaths  prescribed  by  Law.  —  He 
seems  to  condemn  the  Speculaters  in  Lands  and  the  pur- 
chases from  the  State  of  Georgia,  &  thinks  as  every  sensible  & 

323 


TV ashingtovi  s  Southern  Tour 

disinterested  man  must  that  schemes  of  that  sort  must  in- 
volve the  Country  in  trouble  —  perhaps  in  blood 

Saturday  4'*  1 

Left  Mr.  Gatewoods  about  half  after  Six  oclock  —  and  be- 
tween his  house  &  the  Ferry  passed  the  line  which  divides  the 
States  of  Virginia  and  N?  Carolina  &  dining  at  one  Wilsons  2 1 6 
Miles  from  the  Ferry,  lodged  at  Hallifax  old  Town .  .  —  The 
Road  from  Dix'  ferry  to  Wilson's,  passes  over  very  hilly  (& 
for  the  most  part)  indifferent  land,  being  a  good  deal  mixed 
with  pine  though  it  is  said  here  that  pine  when  mixed  with 
Oak,  &  more  especially  with  hiccory  is  not  indicative  of  a 
poor  Soil.  From  Wilson's  to  Hallifax  old  town  the  Soil  is  good, 
&  of  a  reddish  cast. 

Having  this  day  passed  the  line  of  N°  Carolina  and  of 
course  finished  my  tour  thro'  the  three  Southernmost  states  a 

1  The  following  interesting  entries  are  found  in  the  manuscript  diary  of 
Richard  N.  Venable,  at  the  time  practising  law  in  Pittsylvania  County, 
Virginia.  He  was  own  brother  to  Abraham  B.  Venable,  who  served  in  Con- 
gress from  March  4,  1791,  to  March  3,  1799;  served  in  the  United  States 
Senate  from  December  7,  1803,  to  June  7,  1804,  when  he  resigned.  He 
perished  at  the  burning  of  the  theatre  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  December 
26, 181 1.  The  entries  in  Richard  N.  Venable's  manuscript  diary  (1791-92) 
which  pertain  to  Washington  follow  below: 

Sat.  4(*  June  1791.  Peytonsburg,  Pittsylvania  County.  Gen'l  Washing- 
ton came  in  the  evening  —  stayed  at  tavern  —  set  out  next  morning  before 
sunrise.  .  .  . 

Monday  #A.  Charlotte  Court  (Charlotte  County,  Virginia).  Great  anx- 
iety in  the  people  to  see  Gen'l  Washington.  Strange  is  the  impulse  which 
is  felt  by  almost  every  breast  to  see  the  face  of  a  great  good  man  —  sensa- 
tion better  felt  than  expressed.  In  evening  [I]  came  to  Prince  Edward  C.  H. 

Tuesday  7'.*  June.  Gen'l  Washington  arrived  at  Prince  Edward  Court 
House,  all  crowding  the  way  where  they  expect  him  to  pass,  anxious  to  see 
the  Saviour  of  their  Country  and  object  of  their  love. 

Mr.  Venable  was  doubtless  subject  to  the  "strange  impulse"  of  which  he 
speaks,  as  he  seems  to  have  followed  the  President  for  several  days.  For 
these  excerpts  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  A.  J.  Morrison,  Hampton  Sidney,  Vir- 
ginia. 

2  The  name  in  the  original  manuscript  may  possibly  be  "  Wisom."  In 
his  sketch,  "Washington's  Journey  through  North  Carolina  in  1791," 
Richard  G.  Walzer,  Esq.,  Lexington,  North  Carolina,  states  that  the  per- 
son here  referred  to  is  Nathanael  Wilson,  his  great-great-grandfather. 

324 


Return  to  Mount  Vernon 

general  description  of  them  may  be  comprised  in  the  few  fol- 
lowing words.  — 

From  the  Seaboard  to  the  falls  of  the  Rivers  which  water 
the  extensive  region  the  lands,  except  the  Swamps,  on  the 
Rivers,  and  the  lesser  streams  which  empty  into  them;  &  the 
interval  lands  higher  up  the  Rivers  is  with  but  few  excep- 
tions neither  more  nor  less  than  a  continued  pine  barren  very 
thinly  inhabited.  —  The  part  next  the  Seaboard,  for  many 
Miles,  is  a  dead  level  badly  watered.  —  That  above  it  is  hilly 
&  not  much  better  watd  but  if  possible  less  valuable  on  ac- 
count of  its  hilliness  and  because  they  are  more  inconvenient 
to  Market  supposing  them  as  capable  as  the  lands  below  of 
producing  Beef,  Porke,  Tar,  pitch,  &  turpentine.  —  The  land 
above  the  falls  of  the  several  Rivers  from  information,  and  as 
far  as  my  own  observation  has  extended,  is  of  a  very  supe- 
rior kind  from  these  being  of  a  greasy  red,  with  large  oaks, 
intermixed  with  hiccory  Chesnut  &ca  p^SSig,  Corn  Tob? 
Wheat,  Hemp  &  other  articles  in  great  abundance  &  are  gen- 
erally thickly  inhabited  comparatively  speaking  with  those 
below 

In  the  lower  Country  (near  the  Seaboard)  in  the  States  of 
S°  Carolina  &  Georgia,  Rice,  as  far  up  as  the  low  swamps  ex- 
tend is  almost  the  sole  article  that  is  raised  for  Market;  — 
Some  of  the  planters  of  which  grow  as  much  Corn,  as,  with 
the  Sweet  Potatoes,  support  their  people;  —  The  middle 
Country  —  that  is  between  the  Rice  lands  and  the  fall  of  the 
Rivers  &  a  little  above  them,  is  cultivated  chiefly  in  Corn  & 
Indigo  —  and  the  upper  Country  in  Tobacco,  Corn,  Hemp  & 
in  some  degree  the  smaller  grains 

It  is  nearly  the  same  in  N?  Carolina,  with  this  difference 
however  that,  as  not  much  rice  is  planted  there,  especially  in 
the  Northern  parts  of  the  State,  Corn,  some  Indigo,  with 
Naval  Stores  &  Porke,  are  substituted  in  its  place,  but  as 
Ind°  is  on  the  decline  Hemp,  Cotton  &ca  are  coming  in  its 
place.  The  Inland  navigations  of  the  Rivers  of  these  three 
States  may  be  improved  (according  to  the  ideas  I  have  formed 
of  the  matter)  to  a  very  extensive  degree  —  to  great  &  useful 
purposes  —  and  at  a  very  moderate  expence  compared  with 

325 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

the  vast  utility  of  the  measure;  inasmuch  as  the  falls  in  all 
of  them  are  trifling  and  their  length  great;  (quite  to  the 
Mount115)  penetrating  the  Country  in  all  directions  by  their 
lateral  branches  and  in  their  present  State  except  at  the  falls 
w0*1  as  has  been  observed  before  are  trifling  except  that  of  the 
Peedee  navigable  for  vessels  carrying  sev!  Hhds  of  Tob?  or 
other  Articles  in  proportion. 

The  prices  at  which  these  Rice  lands  in  the  lower  parts  of 
the  St[atel  are  held  is  very  great  —  those  of  yT  wc^  have  been 
improved  comd  from  20  to  30  Sterl?  —  £50  has  been  given  for 
some  —  and  from  £10  to  14  is  the  price  of  it  in  its  rude  state. 
—  The  Pine  barrens  adjoining  these  sell  from  one  to  two  dol- 
lars pr  Acre  according  to  circumstances.  —  The  interval  Lands 
on  the  River  below  the  falls,  &  above  the  Rice  Swamps  also 
command  a  good  price  but  not  equal  to  the  abe  &  the  pine 
barrens  less  than  those  below  —  The  lands  of  the  upper 
Country  sell  from  4  to  6  or  7  dollars  according  to  the  quality 
and  circumstances  thereof. 

In  the  upper  parts  of  N°  Cara  Wheat  is  pretty  much  grown 
&  the  Farmers  seem  disposed  to  try  Hemp  but  the  Land  Car- 
riage is  a  considerable  drawback  having  between  1  &  300 
Miles  to  carry  their  produce  either  to  Chs  Town,  Petersburgh 
or  Wilmington  wch  are  their  three  great  Marts  though  of  late 
Fayettesville  receives  a  gd  deal  of  the  bulky  articles  &  they  are 
water  borne  from  thence  to  Wilmington. 

Excepting  the  Towns  (and  some  Gentlemens  Seats  along  the 
Road  from  Charleston  to  Savanna)  there  is  not  within  view  of 
the  whole  road  I  travelled  from  Petersburgh  to  this  place,  a 
single  house  which  has  anythg  of  an  elegant  appearance  — 
They  are  altogether  of  Wood  &  chiefly  of  logs  —  some  indd 
have  brick  chimneys  but  generally  the  chimneys  are  of  Split 
sticks  filled  with  dirt  between  them. 

The  accommodations  on  the  whole  Road  (except  in  the 
Towns  and  even  there,  as  I  was  informed,  for  I  had  no  oppor- 
tunity of  Judging,  lodgings  having  been  provided  for  me  in 
them  at  my  own  expence)  we  found  extremely  indifferent  — 
the  houses  being  small  and  badly  provided,  either  for  man  or 
horse;  though  extra  exertions  when  it  was  known  I  was  com- 

326 


Return  to  Mount  Vernon 

ing,  wch  was  generally  the  case,  were  made  to  receive  me.  — 
It  is  not  easy  to  say  on  which  road  —  the  one  I  went  or  the  one 
I  came  —  the  entertainment  is  most  indifferent  —  but  with 
truth  it  may  be  afdr^  that  both  are  bad.  and  to  be  ac- 
counted for  from  the  kind  of  travellers  which  use  them;  which 
with  a  few  exceptions  only  on  the  uppr  Rd  are  no  other  than 
waggoners  &  families  removing,  who,  generally,  take  their 
provisions  along  with  them  —  The  people  however  appear  to 
have  abundant  means  to  live  with  the  grounds  where  they 
are  settled  yielding  grain  in  abundance  and  the  natural  herb- 
age a  multitude  of  meat  with  little  or  no  labr  to  provide  food 
for  the  support  of  their  Stock  —  especially  in  Georgia  where  it 
is  said  the  Cattle  live  through  the  winter  without  any  support 
from  the  owners  of  them. 

The  manners  of  the  people,  as  far  as  my  observations,  and 
means  of  information  extended,  were  orderly  and  Civil.  — 
and  they  appeared  to  be  happy,  contented  and  satisfied  with 
the  gen!  governm'  under  which  they  are  placed.  —  Where  the 
case  was  otherwise,  it  was  not  difficult  to  trace  the  cause  to 
some  demagogue,  or  speculating  character.  —  In  Georgia  the 
dissatisfied  part  of  them  at  the  late  treaty  with  the  Ck  Indians 
were  evidently  Land  Jobbers,  who,  maugre  every  principle  of 
Justice  to  the  Indians  &  Policy  to  their  Country  would,  for 
their  own  immediate  emolument,  strip  the  Indns  of  all  their 
territory  if  they  could  obtain  the  least  countenance  to  the 
measure.  —  but  it  is  to  be  hoped  the  good  sense  of  the  State 
will  set  its  face  against  such  diabolical  attemps.  —  and  it  is 
also  to  be  wished  —  and  by  many  it  was  said  it  might  be  ex- 
pected —  that  the  sales  by  that  State  to  what  are  called 
the  Yazoo  Companies  would  fall  through 

The  discontents  which  it  was  supposed  the  last  Revenue 
Act  (commonly  known  by  the  Excise  Law)  would  create  sub- 
side as  fast  as  the  law  is  explained  —  and  little  was  said  of  the 
Banking  Act. 
Sunday  —  5'* 

Left  the  old  Town  about  4  Oclock  a.  m.;  &  breakfasting  at 
one  Prides  (after  crossing  Banister  River  1  \  Miles)  abl  1 1  Miles 
from  it,  came  to  Staunton  River  about  12;  where  meeting 

327 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

Col°  Isaac  Coles1  (formerly  a  Member  of  Congress  for  this  dis- 
trict &)  who  pressed  me  to  it,  I  went  to  his  house  about  one 
mile  off  to  dine  and  to  halt  a  day,  for  the  refreshment  of  my- 
self and  horses;  —  leaving  my  Servants  and  them  at  one  of 
the  usually  indifferent  Taverns  at  the  Ferry  that  they  might 
give  no  trouble,  or  be  inconvenient  to  a  private  family.  — 

Monday  6* 

Finding  my  Horses  fared  badly  at  the  ferry  for  want  of 
Grass,  &  Col0  Coles  kindly  pressing  me  to  bring  them  to 
his  Pasture,  they  were  accordingly  brought  there  to  take  the 
run  of  it  till  night.  —  dined  at  this  Gentlemans  today  also.  — 

The  Road  from  Hallifax  old  C'  H°  or  town  to  Staunton 
River  passes  for  the  most  part  over  thin  land  a  good  deal 
mixed  with  Pine. 

1  Isaac  Coles,  son  of  John  Coles,  was  born  in  Albemarle  County,  Vir- 
ginia, March  2, 1747.  He  entered  the  class  of  1768  at  the  College  of  William 
and  Mary.  He  was  a  landholder  and  planter  of  great  wealth,  owning  exten- 
sive lands  in  Halifax,  Pittsylvania,  and  Brunswick  Counties,  and  exercised 
a  powerful  influence  in  local  politics.  Some  time  before  1769  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses.  In  the  Revolutionary  War  he  served 
in  the  State  militia,  being  eventually  promoted  to  the  rank  of  colonel.  For 
a  time  he  was  a  member  of  the  State  Senate.  In  1788  he  was  a  delegate  to 
the  State  Convention  to  consider  the  United  States  Constitution,  in  which 
his  influence  and  vote  were  cast  against  its  ratification.  He  was  elected  to 
the  First  Congress  (March  4, 1789,  to  March  3, 1791);  reelected  to  the  Third 
and  Fourth  Congresses  (March  4, 1793,  to  March  3, 1797).  He  was  an  earnest 
supporter  and  friend  of  Thomas  Jefferson  and  the  politics  he  represented. 
He  died  June  2,  18 13.  (From  The  Centennial  of  Washington's  Inauguration, 
edited  by  C.  W.  Bowen.) 

When  one  of  the  ladies  in  the  Coles  family  was  asked,  many  years  later, 
what  had  been  said  at  her  table  by  the  august  Washington,  she  replied  that 
the  only  thing  she  could  recall  was  that  he  praised  the  pudding!  When  Dr. 
Morgan  Dix,  rector  of  Trinity  Church,  New  York,  was  visiting  the  Bruce 
estate  in  Virginia,  he  asked  Lazarus,  the  colored  butler,  who  had  been  in 
the  Bruce  family  for  sixty  years,  about  this  story.  Lazarus,  it  must  be  un- 
derstood, did  not  think  much  of  any  white  folks  but  his  master's.  "Laz- 
arus," said  Dr.  Dix,  "I  understand  that  General  Washington  once  passed 
down  Mr.  Bruce 's  plantation  road.  Do  you  remember  anything  about 
it?"  "General  Washington?  General  Washington?"  replied  Lazarus.  "I 
never  heard  of  him,  sah!  He  wa'n't  none  of  our  folks."  —  This  story  was 
told  me  by  the  Virginian  historian,  Dr.  Philip  Alexander  Bruce. 

328 


Return  to  Mount  Vernon 

Tuesday  —  fh 

Left  Col0  Coles  by  day  break,  and  breakfasted  at  Charlotte 
O  H°  15  Miles  where  I  was  detained  sometime  to  get  Shoes 
put  on  such  horses  as  had  lost  them  —  proceeded  afterwards 
to  Prince  Edward  Court  House  20  Miles  further. 

The  Lands  from  Staunton  to  Charlotte  C'H°  are  in  gen1 
good;  &  pretty  thickly  settled;  They  are  cultivated  chiefly  in 
Tob°  Wheat  &  Corn,  with  Oats  and  flax.  —  The  Houses  (tho' 
none  eleg1)  are  in  gen'  decent  &  bespeak  good  livers;  being 
for  the  most  part  weatherboarded  &  shingled,  with  brick 
Chimnies  —  but  from  Charlotte  Cl  H°  to  Prince  Edward  G 
H°  the  lands  are  of  an  inferior  quality  with  few  inhabitants  in 
sight  of  the  Road.  —  it  is  said  they  are  thick  settled  off  it, 
the  Roads  by  keeping  the  Ridge  pass  on  the  most  indifferent 
ground. 

Wednesday  —  8'* 

Left  Prince  Edward  C*  H°  as  soon  as  it  was  well  light,  & 
breakfasted  at  one  Treadways  13  Miles  off.  —  dined  at  Cum- 
berland O  H°  14  Miles  further  —  and  lodged  at  Moores 
Tavern  within  1  Miles  from  Carters  ferry  over  James 
River  — 

The  Road  from  Prince  Edward  Court  H°  to  Treadways 
was  very  thickly  settled,  although  the  land  appeared  thin, 
and  the  growth  in  a  great  degree  pine.  &  from  Treadways 
to  Cumberland  O  H?  they  were  equally  well  settled  on  better 
land,  less  mixed,  and  in  places  not  mixed  at  all  with  pine 
—  the  buildings  appear  to  be  better.  — 

Thursday  g"1 

Set  off  very  early  from  Moores  but  the  proper  ferry  boat 
being  hauled  up,  we  were  a  tedious  while  crossing  in  one  of  the 
Boats  used  in  the  navigation  of  the  River;  being  obliged  to 
carry  one  carriage  at  a  time  without  horses  &  crossways  the 
Boat  on  planks.  —  Breakfasted  at  a  Widow  pains  17  Miles  on 
the  N°  side  of  the  River,  and  lodged  at  a  Mrs  Jordans  a  pri- 
vate house  where  we  were  kindly  entertained  and  to  which  we 
were  driven  by  necessity  having  Rode  not  less  than  25  Miles 
from  our  breakfasting  stage  through  very  bad  Roads  in  a 

329 


Washington^ ss  Southern  Tour 

very  sultry  day  with1  any  refreshment  &  by  missing  the 
right  road  had  got  to  it.  — 

From  the  River  to  the  Widow  Pains,  &  thence  to  Ander- 
sons bridge  over  the  North  Anna  Branch  of  Pamunky,  the 
Lands  are  not  good  nor  thickly  settled  on  the  Road,  but  are 
a  good  deal  mixd  w.  Pine;  nor  does  the  Soil  &  growth  promise 
much  (except  in  places)  from  thence  for  several  miles  further; 
but  afterwards,  throughout  the  County  of  Louisa,  which  is 
entered  after  passing  the  Bridge,  the  River  over  which  it  is 
made  dividing  it  from  Goochland  they  are  much  better  &  con- 
tinued so  with  little  exception  quite  to  Mrs  Jordans 

Friday  —  \olh 

Left  Mrs  Jordans  early,  &  breakfasted  at  one  Johnstons  7 
Miles  off  reached  Fredericksburgh  after  another  (short)  halt 
about  3  Oclock  &  dined  and  lodged  at  my  Sister  Lewis's 

The  Lands  from  Mrs  Jordans  to  Johnsons,  and  from  thence 
for  several  miles  further  are  good  but  not  rich  afterwards  (as 
you  approach  nearer  to  Rappahannock  River  they  appear  to 
be  of  a  thinner  quality  &  more  inclined  to  black  Jacks 

Saturday  —  1 2** 

About  Sunrise  we  were  off —  breakfasted  at  Dumfries  and 
arrived  at  M'  Vn  to  Dine.  .  .  . 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  Washington,  as  evidenced  by 
this  tour,  was  revered  and  venerated  as  the  true  father  of 
his  country.  In  their  address  to  Washington,  the  Masons 
of  Prince  George's  Lodge,  No.  16  (Modern),  Georgetown, 
South  Carolina,  use  the  phrase:  "At  a  time  when  all  men 
are  emulous  to  approach  you  to  express  the  lively  sensa- 
tions you  inspire  as  the  Father  of  our  country  etc."  The 
people  of  Georgetown,  likewise,  in  their  address  to  Wash- 
ington, refer  to  him  as  "first  Magistrate  of  the  Federal 
Republic,  that  person,  whom  of  all  men  we  are  most  dis- 
posed to  revere  as  our  benefactor,  and  to  love  as  the  father 

330 


■                        •  \  ••  1 

n                                       if-*"    ■' ;*       a 

STUART  PORTRAIT  OF  WASHINGTON 
AT  WASHINGTON  AND   LEE   UNIVERSITY,   LEXINGTON,   VIRGINIA 


THE  LIBRARY 

Of  THE 

MiVERSlTY  OF  IU1NOIS 


Return  to  Mount  Vernon 

of  his  country."  And  the  City  Council  of  Charleston  in 
their  address  to  Washington  use  the  words:  "When  in 
the  person  of  the  Supreme  Magistrate  of  the  United  States, 
they  recognize  the  Father  of  the  people  etc."  The  idea  of 
filial  devotion  to  Washington  as  paternal  guide  and  fa- 
therly leader  was  uppermost  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the 
people,  and  found  voice  in  their  addresses. 

The  gratification  of  the  American  people  upon  Wash- 
ington's safe  return  to  Mount  Vernon  was  hearty  and 
unaffected.  It  found  voice  in  the  public  prints  of  the 
day,  as  in  these  lines  from  the  "Columbian  Centinel" 
of  Boston : 

"Kind  Heav'n,  O  send  him  safely  back,"  we  pray'd, 
Nor  were  the  intercession  urged  in  vain, 
The  tour  perform'd,  and  millions  happy  made, 
His  Vernon  hails  in  health  its  Lord  again. 

Nor  was  Philadelphia  silent  when  the  President  finally 
reached  the  capital  —  his  return  being  greeted  by  the 
ringing  of  bells,  the  firing  of  artillery,  and  general  celebra- 
tion. The  Pennsylvania  poet  likewise  found  expression 
for  his  emotions  over  the  happy  event  in  this  sentiment 
printed  in  the  "Gazette  of  the  United  States": 

Not  heroes  in  triumphant  cars, 
Victorious  in  their  country's  wars, 
With  captives,  spoils,  and  glory  crown'd 
Whose  peans  make  the  skies  resound; 
Experience  half  the  joys  they  know 
Who  live  to  lessen  human  woe; 
The  progress  of  whose  godlike  mind, 
Is  but  a  Tour  to  bless  mankind. 

Something  of  the  contemporary  deification  of  Washington 

33i 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

is  exhibited  in  poems  which  call  him  the  "Lord"  of  Mount 
Vernon  and  describe  his  mind  as  "godlike." 

A  study  of  the  newspapers  of  the  day  likewise  results 
in  the  discovery  of  essays  on  Washington,  evoked  by  the 
tour  and  its  attendant  circumstances.  "No  year  of  the 
world,"  says  an  anonymous  writer  in  the  "Columbian 
Herald"  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  "has  ever  been 
distinguished  by  any  event  perfectly  similar  to  the  ever 
memorable  tour  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
through  a  country  of  fourteen  hundred  miles  extent,  de- 
fended by  the  valour  of  his  arms,  and  the  intrepidity  of 
that  mind,  which  no  combination  of  gloomy  prospects 
could  disturb  or  subvert.  It  is  true,  we  read  of  no  man  in 
history,  whose  greatness  of  conception,  or  vastness  of  am- 
bition had  aspired  to  accomplish  a  revolution  of  equal 
magnitude,  connected  with  equal  virtue."  After  comparing 
—  unfavorably  to  Washington  —  Louis  XIV,  Alexander 
the  Great,  Caesar,  Scipio  Africanus,  and  Peter  the  Great, 
the  writer  launches  forth  upon  an  unmeasured  eulogy 
of  the  "American  General"  —  concluding  with  this  highly 
pictorial  tribute: 

If  a  stranger  from  some  remote  corner  of  the  globe  were  to 
land  in  this  city  on  Monday  the  2nd  instant,  and  observe  the 
tumult  and  concourse  of  men,  women  and  children,  moving 
with  the  utmost  expedition  to  the  harbour;  impatience  and 
earnestness  as  evident  in  their  countenances  as  their  motion, 
would  it  not  be  natural  for  him  earnestly  to  enquire  what  was 
the  motive  to  all  this  scene,  having  to  him  the  appearance  of 
some  confusion?  but  if  it  could  be  explained  to  him,  that  a 
hundred  thousand  persons  were  collected  to  receive  and  con- 
fer every  applause  in  their  power  on  a  great  man,  whom  they 

332 


Return  to  Mount  Vernon 

hourly  expected,  who  defended  freedom,  the  equal  rights  of 
men,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  a  mighty  empire,  governed  by 
laws  of  the  people's  own  enaction,  and  all  this  against  the 
strongest  fleet  in  the  world,  aided  by  a  martial  army,  and  sup- 
plied by  the  wealth  of  nations,  —  this  man  surely  would  not 
wonder  to  see  the  first  characters  in  the  state  for  eminence  of 
wisdom  and  fortune,  the  three  learned  professions,  the  cor- 
porate body  of  the  city,  the  merchants,  the  citizens,  an  im- 
mense concourse  of  strangers,  a  numerous  appearance  of  la- 
dies, who  presented  the  splendid  scene  of  beauty,  gaiety  and 
brilliant  attire,  all  crowding  to  pay  the  homage  of  the  heart 
to  the  deliverer  of  America.  His  appearance  was  peculiarly 
marked  with  dignity,  and  the  serenity  as  well  as  the  satisfac- 
tion which  sat  on  his  countenance,  made  every  pulse  in  every 
frame  responsive;  which  brought  to  our  memory  the  following 
beautiful  compliment  to  an  eminent  poet  —  would  to  God  we 
had  now  such  a  poet  for  a  subject  more  transcendantly  bright 
and  interesting  to  future  generations. 

voltus  ubis  tuus 
affulsit  populo,  gratior  it  dies 
Et  soles  melius  nitent.  Hor. 

Whene'er  thy  countenance  divine, 
The  attendant  people  cheers; 
The  genial  suns  more  radiant  shine 
The  day  more  glad  appears. 

In  a  more  restrained  tone,  also  from  a  Charleston  paper, 
is  "An  Essay  towards  the  Character  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States,"  which  was  approvingly  copied  in  many 
gazettes  of  the  day  throughout  the  country.  Speaking 
of  Washington  as  military  commander,  the  anonymous 
author  pertinently  observes:  "Indefatigably  laborious  and 
active,  coolly  intrepid  in  action,  he  discerns,  as  by  intu- 
ition, seizes  with  rapidity,  and  improves  with  skill,  the 
short,  favourable  and  often  defective  moments  of  battle." 

333 


Washington^ 's  Southern  Tour 

A  biographer  of  to-day  might  have  written  these  lines 
descriptive  of  Washington:  "Resolute  and  undejected 
in  misfortune,  he  has  risen  superior  to  distresses  and 
struggled  with  difficulties,  which  no  courage  or  constancy, 
but  his  own,  could  have  resisted  or  surmounted."  A 
most  significant  feature  of  this  tribute  is  this  sentiment: 
"Arriving  at  a  situation  far  more  dignified  than  a  king, 
you  yet  find  him  a  citizen  and  a  patriot."  And  genuine 
insight  is  exhibited  in  the  concluding  observation  of  the 
essay:  "Many  a  private  man  might  make  a  great  presi- 
dent; but  will  there  ever  be  a  president  who  will  make 
so  great  a  private  man  as  Washington?" 

Better  proof  of  the  advantage  which  Washington  him- 
self reaped  from  this  tour  could  not  be  found  than  the 
President's  own  observations,  recorded  in  his  diary,  upon 
the  people,  the  country,  and  the  general  conditions  of 
thinking  and  living.  Not  the  least  significant  testimony  to 
the  remarkable  change  in  the  agricultural  stress  in  the 
South  is  found  in  Washington's  omission  of  cotton  from 
the  list  he  gave  of  the  "principal  exports"  from  Charleston. 
"No  mention  yet  of  cotton  among  the  staple  products  of 
the  South,"  comments  Edward  Everett  writing  in  i860. 
"As  late  as  1794,  it  was  not  known  to  Chief  Justice  Jay, 
when  he  negotiated  his  treaty  with  England,  that  it  was 
likely  to  be  an  article  of  United  States  Commerce.  So 
recently  has  this  great  element  of  trade  and  of  the 
wealth  of  nations  made  its  appearance  on  this  side  of  the 
ocean!"  l 

1  The  Mount  Vernon  Papers.   (D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  New  York,  i860.) 

334 


Return  to  Mount  Vernon 

In  a  characteristic  letter  to  the  Marquis  de  la  Fayette; 
for  whom  he  felt  a  deep  and  genuine  attachment,  Wash- 
ington once  wrote:  "Nothing  but  harmony,  honesty,  in- 
dustry, and  frugality  are  necessary  to  make  us  a  great  and 
happy  people.  Happily  the  present  posture  of  affairs  and 
the  prevailing  disposition  of  my  countrymen,  promise  to 
co-operate  in  establishing  those  four  great  and  essential 
pillars  of  public  felicity."  As  if  to  assure  the  Frenchman, 
whom  he  regarded  as  an  adopted  American,  that  his 
expectations  in  these  respects  concerning  a  part  of  the 
United  States,  the  South,  had  in  great  measure  been  ful- 
filled, Washington  writes  him  from  Philadelphia,  July  28, 
1791: 

On  the  6  of  this  month  I  returned  from  a  tour  through  the 
southern  States,  which  had  employed  me  for  more  than  three 
months  —  In  the  course  of  this  journey  I  have  been  highly 
gratified  in  observing  the  flourishing  state  of  the  Country, 
and  the  good  disposition  of  the  people  —  Industry  and  econ- 
omy have  become  very  fashionable  in  those  parts  .  .  . ,  and  the 
labours  of  man  are  assisted  by  the  blessings  of  Providence  — 
The  attachment  of  all  Classes  of  citizens  to  the  general  Gov- 
ernment seems  to  be  a  pleasing  presage  of  their  future  happi- 
ness and  respectability. 

With  an  expression  of  confident  belief  that  the  estab- 
lishment of  public  credit  was  "an  immense  point  gained 
in  our  national  concerns,"  Washington  writes  in  simi- 
lar strain  to  Gouverneur  Morris  (Philadelphia,  July  28, 
1791): 

In  my  late  tour  thro'  the  southern  States  I  experienced 
great  satisfaction  in  seing  the  good  effects  of  the  general 
Government  in  that  part  of  the  Union  —  The  people  at  large 

335 


Washington' *s  Southern  Tour 

have  felt  the  security  which  it  gives  and  the  equal  justice 
which  it  administers  to  them.  The  Farmer  —  the  Merchant 
—  and  the  Mechanic  have  seen  their  several  interests  at- 
tended to,  and  from  thence  they  unite  in  placing  a  confidence 
in  their  representatives,  as  well  as  in  those  in  whose  hands  the 
execution  of  the  laws  is  placed  —  Industry  has  there  taken 
the  place  of  idleness,  and  economy  of  dissipation  —  Two  or 
three  years  of  good  crops,  and  a  ready  market  for  the  produce 
of  their  lands  has  put  every  one  in  good  humour  —  and,  in 
some  instances  they  even  impute  to  the  government  what  is 
due  only  to  the  goodness  of  Providence. 

This  shrewd  and  humorous  observation  may  be  said  to  an- 
nounce the  birth  of  political  parties  in  American  his- 
tory. 

A  vivid  and  pleasant  memento  of  the  Southern  tour  is 
the  exchange  of  letters  between  Washington  and  General 
Moultrie,  given  here  in  full : 

Charleston  July  10.1791 
Dear  &  respected  Sir 

Permit  me  very  sincerely  to  congratulate  you  on  your  safe 
return  to  Philadelphia  and  to  hope  that  no  more  difficulties 
occurred  to  you  on  your  return  home  than  what  happened  on 
your  journey  through  the  lower  part  of  this  country  while  I 
had  the  honor  to  attend  you;  my  earnest  wish  is,  that  your 
friendly  visit  to  these  Southern  States  will  not  be  attended 
with  any  evil  consequences  to  your  constitution,  but  that  the 
long  journey  and  the  very  great  change  of  climate  may  estab- 
lish your  health  &  lengthen  your  days  in  peace  and  happiness; 
the  citizens  of  this  country  (especially  the  ladies)  will  ever 
have  a  gratefull  sense  of  your  visit  —  and  be  assured  Sir  (while 
I  had  the  honor  of  being  one  of  your  family)  I  have  set  it  down 
in  the  catalogue  of  my  life  among  the  very  happy  days  which 
I  have  enjoyed,  and  have  only  to  regret  that  my  situation  is 
such  that  I  cannot  have  the  honor  of  paying  my  respects  to 
you  more  frequently;  I  will  endeavour  before  my  final  close  of 
life,  to  pay  you  my  last  farewell  visit;  In  the  meantime  I  must 

336 


Return  to  Mount  Vernon 

request  you  will  do  me  the  honor,  to  present  my  most  respect- 
full  compliments  to  Mrs  Washington. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be  Dear  Sir 
with  great  respect  &  regard 

Your  most  obl  &  very  humIe  Serv' 

Will?  Moultrie 
The  President 
(Endorsed):  From 
General  Moultrie 
July  10,  1 79 1 

Philadelphia  August  9,  1791 
General  Moultrie 
Charleston 
I  have  had  the  pleasure,  my  dear  Sir,  to  receive  your  friendly 
letter  of  the  10th  of  last  month  —  and  I  reply  with  affec- 
tionate regard  to  your  congratulations  and  kind  wishes  —  A 
slight  indisposition,  since  my  return,  (occasioned  by  a  tumor, 
not  much  unlike  the  one  I  had  at  N.  York  in  1789)  of  which 
I  am  now  recovered,  does  not  forbid  the  expectation  that 
my  health  may  be  ultimately  improved  by  my  tour  thro'  the 
southern  States  —  My  happiness  has  certainly  been  pro- 
moted by  the  excursion,  and  no  where  in  a  greater  degree 
than  while  resident  among  my  fellow-citizens  of  South  Caro- 
lina —  To  their  attentions  (yours  in  particular)  I  shall  always 
confess  myself  much  obliged,  and  particularly  flattered  by  the 
regards  of  your  fair  Compatriots,  to  whom  I  wish,  upon  every 
occasion,  to  be  remembered  with  grateful  respect. 

I  shall  realize  your  promise  of  a  visit  with  sincere  satisfac- 
tion —  Till  then,  and  always  I  beg  you  to  believe  me, 

With  the  greatest  regard  and  esteem, 
My  dear  Sir, 

Your  &°a 

G.  Washington 

The  most  detailed  summary  of  Washington's  impres- 
sions of  the  South  as  received  on  this  tour,  to  be  found 
preserved  in  his  correspondence,  is  the  letter  to  his  former 
secretary  and  aide,  David  Humphreys.  To  this  dear  friend, 

337 


Washington's  Southern  Tour 

now  United  States  Minister  to  Portugal,  stating  that  he 

has  been  "in  the  enjoyment  of  very  good  health"  during 

his  journey  and  has  "  rather  gained  flesh  upon  it,"  he  gives 

this  memorable  epitome  of  the  impressions  made  on  him 

by  the  Southern  Tour: 

Philadelphia  July  20,  1791 
David  Humphreys  Esquire 

Lisbon 
My  dear  Sir, 

...  In  my  last  I  mentioned  my  intention  of  visiting  the 
southern  States  which  I  have  since  accomplished,  and  have 
the  pleasure  to  inform  you,  that  I  performed  the  journey  of 
1887  miles  without  meeting  with  any  interruption  by  sickness, 
bad  weather,  or  any  untoward  accident  —  Indeed  so  highly 
were  we  favored  that  we  arrived  at  each  place,  where  I  pro- 
posed to  make  a  halt,  on  the  very  day  I  fixed  upon  before  we 
set  out  —  The  same  horses  performed  the  whole  tour,  and, 
although  much  reduced  in  flesh,  kept  up  their  full  spirits  to 
the  last  day. 

I  am  much  pleased  that  I  have  taken  this  journey  as  it  has 
enabled  me  to  see  with  my  own  eyes  the  situation  of  the  coun- 
try thro'  which  we  travelled,  and  to  learn  more  accurately  the 
disposition  of  the  people  than  I  could  have  done  by  any  in- 
formation. 

The  country  appears  to  be  in  a  very  improving  state,  and 
industry  and  frugality  are  becoming  much  more  fashionable 
than  they  have  hitherto  been  there  —  Tranquillity  reigns 
among  the  people,  with  that  disposition  towards  the  general 
government  which  is  likely  to  preserve  it  —  They  begin  to 
feel  the  good  effects  of  equal  laws  and  equal  protection  — 
The  farmer  finds  a  ready  market  for  his  produce,  and  the  mer- 
chant calculates  with  more  certainty  on  his  payments  — 
Manufactures  have  as  yet  made  but  little  progress  in  that 
part  of  the  country,  and  it  will  probably  be  a  long  time  before 
they  are  brought  to  that  state  to  which  they  have  already  ar- 
rived in  the  middle  and  eastern  parts  of  the  Union. 

Each  days  experience  of  the  Government  of  the  United 

338 


Return  to  Mount  Vernon 

States  seems  to  confirm  its  establishment  and  to  render  it 
more  popular.  —  A  ready  acquiescence  in  the  laws  made  un- 
der it  shews  in  a  strong  light  the  confidence  which  the  people 
have  in  their  representatives,  and  in  the  upright  views  of 
those  who  administer  the  government  —  At  the  time  of  pass- 
ing a  law  imposing  a  duty  on  home  made  spirits,  it  was  vehe- 
mently affirmed  by  many  that  such  a  law  could  never  be 
executed  in  the  southern  States,  particularly  in  Virginia  and 
North  Carolina.  As  this  law  came  in  force  only  on  the  first  of 
this  month  little  can  be  said  of  its  effects  from  experience;  but 
from  the  best  information  I  could  get  on  my  journey  respect- 
ing its  operation  on  the  minds  of  the  people  (and  I  took  some 
pains  to  obtain  information  on  this  point)  there  remains  no 
doubt  but  it  will  be  carried  into  effect  not  only  without 
opposition,  but  with  very  general  approbation  in  those  very 
parts  where  it  was  foretold  that  it  would  never  be  submitted 
to  by  anyone. 

It  is  possible,  however,  and  perhaps  not  improbable  that 
some  Demagogue  may  start  up,  and  produce  and  get  signed 
some  resolutions  declaratory  of  their  disapprobation  of  the 
measure. 

Our  public  credit  stands  on  that  ground  which  three  years 
ago  it  would  have  been  considered  a  species  of  madness  to 
have  foretold.  The  astonishing  rapidity  with  which  the  newly 
instituted  Bank  was  filled  gives  an  unexampled  proof  (here) 
of  the  resources  of  our  Countrymen  and  their  confidence  in 
public  measures. 

On  the  first  day  of  opening  the  subscription  the  whole  num- 
ber of  shares  (20,000)  were  taken  up  in  one  hour,  and  appli- 
cation made  for  upwards  of  4,000  shares  more  than  were 
granted  by  the  Institution,  besides  many  others  that  were 
coming  in  from  different  quarters. 

Mrs.  Washington  desires  her  best  wishes  may  be  presented 
to  you  — 

You  are  always  assured,  my  dear  Sir,  of  those  of 
Your  sincere  and  affectionate  friend 

G.  Washington 

339 


Washington' s  Southern  Tour 

In  his  "A  Poem  on  the  Death  of  General  Washington,"  ' 
Humphreys,  the  trusted  friend  and  close  associate,  has  be- 
queathed to  posterity  this  faithful  portrait  of  Washington, 
true  Father  of  his  Country,  whose  tours  of  the  United 
States  were  prompted  by  paternal  love  for  the  American 
People,  the  children  of  his  great  heart : 

When,  nigh  ador'd,  too  great  to  need  parade, 

He  through  the  States  his  pleasing  progress  made; 

What  gratulations  pure  the  patriot  met! 

What  cheeks  with  tears  of  gratitude  were  wet! 

While  useful  knowledge  from  each  State  he  gain'd, 

Prais'd  their  improvements  and  their  bliss  explain'd; 

While  bridges,  roads,  canals  in  every  State, 

And  growing  fabrics  owned  his  influence  great; 

Such  goodness  mark'd  each  act,  in  every  place 

He  left  impressions  time  can  ne'er  efface. 

Then  rose  the  favour'd  States  beneath  his  smile, 

Adorn'd,  enrich'd,  and  strengthen'd  by  his  toil; 

Then  millions  felt  what  happiness  ensued, 

And  hail'd  their  country's  father  great  and  good. 

1  The  Miscellaneous  Works  of  David  Humphreys.  (T.  and  J.  Swords,  New 
York,  1804.)   See  footnote,  Chapter  I. 


THE  END 


